Into the storm
by Ryan1882
Summary: Isabella Swan finds her world turned upside down when she wakes as the one thing she never believed she could be: a vampire. But guilt hangs heavy on her heart and she is directed to a man who could make her immortal life that bit better: Carlisle Cullen. Full summary inside: this is a girl/girl paring so don't read if that's not your thing. Please give this story a shot thanks
1. Awakening

A strangled scream was dying to rip out of my throat, but no sound came, not even as my mouth fell slack.

It took a few moments, as I lay there, burning from the inside out, to understand that it wasn't my skin that was burning.

The churning flames were deep inside me, spreading through my body and eating away at my internal organs, excruciatingly slow. My silent screams were no more, I couldn't think past the chaos happening beneath my skin.

I just wanted to die, but the fire kept me alive, washing over me repeatedly. It continued to rise and peak, before falling to a low hum.

The low hum would last for a mere five seconds, but throughout the grotesque cleansing, when the fire scorched everything inside me, those five seconds were all I holding on for.

It felt like days that I lay in the fiery trap that was my body. Days where I withered and burned and desperately awaited my death. It lasted forever, although the fire moved beneath my skin faster than the speed of light.

It took its sweet time charring my organs, my veins, my muscles, my very soul. Until the buildup began to grow higher and higher, the flames licking at my rib cage.

The climax, I should of realised, was my heart. The agony of the burn was raising to an unbearable point. I thought I had felt the pain of a million deaths when the heat touched my spine.

But nothing, nothing at all in the universe, will ever describe the white, hot, blood curling torture, as the burning, engulfed my heart. I was sure that was the moment I would die, I was positive.

So positive, that I assumed my body was crying in relief at the promise of the end of this torture. In my mind's eye, all I could picture was a ball of bright-hot, eye watering, white light.

It grew and festered, changing in shape from a tiny pebble to the size of my fist. I lay there, watching it for hours, the sight so terrifying and so beautiful in the same instant.

I guess I should have known it wouldn't have stayed like that. The sweep of light hit every body part in one instant and for the first time in what felt like centuries, I could hear my own screams.

The light touched from my stomach to my toes, zinging along my veins and burning my fingertips. It clawed at my neck, leaving the same white-hot pain in the base of my throat.

Before finally, it touched my ears, bringing the world to startling clarity. Then my eyes, my hair line and the tips of my chestnut hair. My hearing was the only sense to return and after a while, I desperately wished it would leave again.

The sounds of my own screams terrified me. In a desperate attempt, I tried to move my body, to turn my head or even simply wiggle my fingers, but I couldn't move, no matter how hard I tried.

I began to distract myself by counting, wondering how long I'd been burning for. If I really tried, I'm sure I could remember. But then again, I'd probably delude myself.

I could have been here for mere seconds or minutes. Or even hours, days, weeks, years. I felt like I'd been here for centuries, being tortured by my own body.

The pain began to lessen and a bubble of hope burned throughout my chest. 'I'm going to make it,' I whispered to myself, though I couldn't move my mouth to say the words out loud.

It was as if the universe was playing a cruel, sick joke on me. Because the moment I thought of the final word, the pain flared up in my left arm before doubling all over my body.

A scream bubbled up once more and I prepared myself for the horrifying noise, but it never came. My jaw locked tight, leaving the scream trapped in my throat.

Without my screaming outlet's, I had to endure the pain rushing through my body as the endless fire raged on. Then just as quickly as it came, the pain subsided in my arms and I could feel the control of my body come back to me.

Bit by bit, I was able to move my fingers, ball my hands into fists and wiggle my toes. Another bout of hope flared in my chest, promising me the end.

Despite being able to feel my fingers and toes, the burning continued throughout certain parts of my body, mostly my heart.

I felt as if it was playing games with me, as if it was enjoying increasing and decreasing rapidly. Slowly, I began to hear the faint wind outside, tapping against the outside of the house.

Voices began to meet my ears, so loud it felt as if they were shouting. But I knew no one was with me, they couldn't be. They would of ended this torture if they were.

The voices were so clear, I instantly tuned into them. Panic was rising in me, at my new found ability of magnified hearing.

The voices continued to whisper. "Relax, she will be fine, I assure you. Now go. I'll tell your sister everything, I promise."

The voice was a man's - that much was clear. His accent was heavy English, punctuating most of his words.

There was a delicate sniffle. "O-ok. Please, tell her I love her and please, help her. She doesn't deserve any of this. I wish I could stay. But well... Dylan could you do me a favor? Give her this... I-it, it was our mother's. Goodbye," the musical voice drifted off before it disappeared entirely, leaving an empty silence.

My attention came back to myself, where I could now hear the sound of my labored, pained breathing and my heartbeat. Dread washed over me as the pain in my heart started up again, causing a desperate cry to escape my lips.

No!

Not again!

I couldn't survive this again!

But the pain ignored me, sizzling at my heart as it burned and smoked, causing the same ball of light to appear before my eyes. This time, when it exploded, I was ready. But it was even more excruciating than the first time.

It began to dull once more after an eternity and I prayed it was over now. My own heart beat began to drop, leaving me panicked and confused. That couldn't be a good sign.

Then the pain was gone and relief washed over me, unlocking all my muscles.

All my senses hit me in a rush. I could feel my body collapse into the floor, hear the owl hooting in a tree. I expected to smell burning, the burnt skin of my own dead flesh.

But I smelt nothing of the sort. Only the smell of the room, of which I couldn't decipher. I opened my eyes slowly, staring up at ceiling. I could see surprisingly well, despite the lack of lighting.

As I sat up, my muscles ached and my throat burned. I could hear the dull thud of my heart and my shallow breathing.

No pain came, but I heard my own heart thud, hard against my rib cage. It did it again, before it stopped completely. My eyes widened in horror. There was no sound after that point. No breathing, no heartbeat, not even the owl in the tree.

Just, silence.

For a moment the absence of pain was all I could comprehend, that and the confusion of everything I had experienced. Right down to my heart that beat no more. I began to look around me, as if I could find answers within my surrounding.

It was shocking how clear and high definition everything was. Every object I looked at was so sharp and picture perfect. Every detail of the walls and roof, I could see, every fiber of the carpet, I could count.

However, the bright light at the end of the room was what caught my attention, a sliver of light which was coming from underneath the door. Although it was only a small amount, I could make out all the colors the light created.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, inhaling the air. It then occurred to me that air didn't feel right. I could inhale it, but it never sat in my lungs and gave me oxygen.

It just passed through me, as if my body no longer had any need for it. As I breathed through my nose, new smells hit me instantly.

Wood, dust and something that was rather sickly sweet, bringing my attention back to the burning in my throat.

My hands flew upwards, clutching my throat. My ears picked up a noise that came from downstairs. I turned in, listening intently. I realised they were footsteps, which were coming up the stairs and rather fast.

They drew nearer then stopped just outside the door. I found my nostrils flaring as a new scent hit me. It was that same sweet smell from earlier, although now that it was closer, I could make it out.

It seemed to be pear and... mint. It was so intoxicating, I couldn't help but breathe it in. Another scent seemed to be in the mix, vanilla and raspberry.

As the door opened, I found myself already in a corner of the room, with my back to the wall, the muscles in my back arched, leaving me crouched in a defensive position.

Air made its way up through my throat and out my clenched teeth, creating a hissing noise that sounded like a swarm of angry bees.

My mind was screaming danger while my throat throbbed more and more. For a moment, it was difficult to concentrate on the man who now stood in the door way, his hands above his head in a surrender position.

My eyes bore into his red ones, neither of us moving an inch in the two minutes that we had been here for.

Slowly, the man put his hands down, my eyes following the movement before flying back to his face.

"Please, calm down. I am not here to hurt you, honest. I only want to help you. I made a promise to your sister that I would. Now please, come with me."

The man then turned and started walking down the hall, stopping at the end of it, he turned back around to face me. "Follow me, you have to feed," he ordered.

He then disappeared from sight. I could hear him walking down the steps. I had yet to move from my position against the wall, although my mind and control over my body was starting to come back to me.

He knew where my sister was, and I needed to know. What did he mean, feed? I didn't understand why, but I felt that I could trust him, if only enough to get information from him.

Cautiously, I followed after him, taking my time to make sure that I noticed if anything was out of place.

I suddenly realized I was moving so fast, yet I felt so slow. Within a mere few seconds, I found myself down the stairs and right next to him.

Holy shit, what's happening to me? Together, we proceeded down another hallway. I had so many questions that suddenly began to pop into my head.

What am I? Was my main one. Where am I and why should I trust you? Why do I feel a burn in my throat? What do you mean by feed? And what just happened to me? Closely followed.

One moment, I'm burning intensely for what felt like years upon years and the next moment, I'm walking about and everything seems abundantly different.

The world is so much more colorful, sharper and everything smells different too.

But I decided to ask a simpler question instead. "Where are we going?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, my hand flew to cover it. My voice! What the hell? It sounded nothing like me! It had an unearthly beauty to it. Tinkering and soft, like the man I was following.

The man turned left where there were steps at the end of another hallway, which we went down as soon as we reached them. As we reached the last step, I saw a door at the end of yet another hallway.

In an instant, my throat burned worse than it had been since I awakened. Scents reached my nostrils, causing them to flare and drive me insane.

The man stopped just outside the door. My eyes widened, my mouth dessert dry as my throat burned on. The man then pointed to the door that I so desperately wanted to get inside of.

"This is the cellar. Here, is where you will feed for the next six days, nowhere else. By then, you should be strong enough to leave this place. If not, well, you will have to leave anyway."

The man spoke without taking a single breath, although he didn't sound struggled to do so. I noticed how his eyes were no longer the intense, frightening red they first were, but slightly darker, like a waxy rose petal red.

Diverting my attention from his eyes, I scrunched up my face in confusion. Feed for six days? What the hell is he talking about? And where on earth was my sister?

I was about to ask these questions, but as if knowing what I was about to ask, he raised his abnormally pale hand to stop me.

"You must feed first, then I will happily answer any questions you have. I will be down the hall, back up the stairs and on the right hand side. The room in there, is where I will wait for you. Take your time, there is no rush, and if I may, go for their neck, it's better that way."

The man then turned and blurred away, back up the hall. I listened to him entering another room and pulling out a chair to take a seat.

Ok, this will take some time to get used to. What did he mean by, go for their necks?

Did he literally mean 'feed'?

I turned my attention to the door and the smells coming from it. They were making my throat burn un-controllably.

I put my hand on my throat, trying to find a way to squeeze the fire out but the burning only got worse.

I turned my attention back towards the door and pushed it opened. What I saw made me sick.

Lying on the ground, were people, at least seventy, chained down with gags in their mouths, so tightly packed together it made the whole thing worse.

There was no room to move, no room to escape. Their heartbeats were all beating evenly, as was their breathing.

I stepped inside and found myself drawn to them lying on the ground. I didn't know how to explain it, but I found myself wanting them.

Their smells drew me in, as did their heartbeats and the fact that I could hear their blood being pumped through their body.

I took a deep breath and found myself beside a young man, no older than twenty five, lying on the ground.

There was dry blood on his neck, due to a deep scratch that I could only assume he received in his kidnapping, which made my stomach quiver.

I leaned in and sniffed his neck, which made my throat sizzle in agony. I whimpered softly, remembering what the man said.

Go for their neck.

No, no, no!

I can't do this! I can't. I won't take a life, even if it will make me feel better! I refuse.

As I battled with my inner self, I didn't realize that my mouth was on his neck. The warmth felt so good on my cold lips.

Suddenly, without making the conscious decision to, I bit down on his throat. The instant I did, the blood flowed into my mouth. God, it was so good! It tasted incredible!

Almost like honey. It was so addictive I didn't want to stop. I wouldn't stop, not now. Within minutes, the blood flow came to a stop and I found myself craving more, so I went to the next person and bit down on their throat.

The same sensation went through me. A feeling of satisfaction brewed in my chest after the sixth person. I could feel the burn in my throat begin to fade away.

By the eighth person, it went away almost completely. It was then that it hit me.

What had I done?!

No, no, no!

I just killed people!

Oh god! This wasn't me! It was the monster that I had become! It had to be whatever creature I am. I would never do this, the old me would never have killed.

After sitting down on the ground for five minutes being so absorbed in my thoughts, I remembered that I wasn't alone. So getting up, I headed towards the door. I was at the room the man said within seconds.

I cringed at how fast I had moved. I seemed to be even faster now that I had fed. Stronger. I shook my head softly. Upon entering the room, I realized it was entirely empty, aside from two chairs that were in the middle of the room.

Strange. Why does he have so many bare rooms? The man was sitting in one of them, clearly he had been waiting patiently for me to finish my feeding, as he had called it. What I hadn't noticed before, was that he was rather good looking.

He had thick brown hair that came to his ears, smooth alabaster skin, and pale pink lips. He was about 5ft'9 in height. Then there were his eyes. Vivid red. They stood out brilliantly. The instant I entered the room, he looked directly at me and smiled warmly.

"Better?" He asked. I noticed how thick the English was in his accent.

"Yes, much better."

The man gestured to the other empty seat. "Please."

I took a seat in the empty chair then stared at the man. I had a thousand questions in me and I wanted answers. The man seemed to know that I was on the verge of bursting them all out.

"I will answer what questions I can. But first, let me introduce myself. I am Dylan Cristi."

He held out his hand for me to shake, to which I did.

Then, without thinking I asked, "What am I? Where am I? What happened to me earlier? I thought I was burning alive. Why should I trust you when I have seen your kind before?! I've seen the damage you can cause. Where's my sister, is she safe? Was it you that saved me from those men?" The words tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them.

Dylan chuckled. "Easy there girl."

He clapped his hands together. "Ok, first question, as to what you are? Well, you're a vampire. I'll give you a moment to absorb that. Second question, where you are, is irrelevant, for now. Third question, what happened to you? That was the venom, passing through your body, making you what you are now. Fourth question, your sister. Well first, let me tell you that Lucia is fine. As to where she is, well, I do not know and fifth question: I am not going to hurt you, at all. I was the one who saved you, and your sister from those men. But I am sure that you remember me a little?"

I took all that information in faster than I would've liked. Ok, so I'm a vampire. He won't tell me where I currently am. What does he mean by venom? And my sister is safe, thank god. But he doesn't know where she is.

Why did he even agree to help her? To help me? Did I remember him? Yes, I think so. "I remember you, at least a little... but, why would Lucia leave me? Why wouldn't she at least say goodbye?" My voice broke on the last note.

Dylan noticed this and shifted in his seat rather nervously. "As a newborn we don't care for anything aside from sex and blood. Your sister Lucia wanted to stay but well, she's having difficulty remembering to be 'Lucia' and so, she felt it was best for the both of you to split up and meet in two years' time, when she's more herself and has more control."

This made me happier, though worried about an empty shell of my sister roaming the earth, a monster wearing my Lucia's face. At least I would get to see her again in two years' time, then maybe she'd be the sister I remembered.

Dylan coughed and spoke up again. "Isabella, Lucia did it with your best interests at heart. She found it within herself to remember you. That's a great feat for a new born. As well as the fact that, the destruction two newborn vampires would cause could be catastrophe for our race. So for your own safety and that of your sisters, she decided to leave you here with me. But she did say that she loves you and, as I said, will meet you in New York City in two years. She did leave something for you, something that she managed to hold on to... while in the mess that you were in. I promised I would give it to you, so here it is."

Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin gold chain, so fragile looking that I wouldn't dare touch it if I were still human, with my big clumsy hands. A gold locket was attached to it. I recognized it instantly. It was our mother's.

She gave it to my sister when she was of age and looking to be married off to a gentleman my parents approved of. Inside the gold circle, there was a photograph of myself, my mother and my Lucia. Sadly, my father wasn't in it, as he had took the photograph.

Stretching out my hand, I grasped the chain with the locket attached to it. Sadness crept slyly into my un-beating heart. I opened the locket, looking at the photo and couldn't help but smile to myself.

One of the last time's I saw my mother before it happened, before they attacked. I closed the locket and put the chain over my neck. I felt an odd sensation when the cold gold locket hit my chest, molding into my skin.

So that voice, when I was burning, was Lucia's? But she had sounded so different. Then a thought warmed my heart. My sister left to protect me, she had been able to find her humanity because of me. Well at least I knew where and when I would see her again.

Looking down at my hands, I noticed how pale they were, it was terrifying. I looked back up at Dylan, who looked at me and walked towards the door, motioning for me to follow him. We went down the hall and into another room.

God, this house was so confusing. Far too many hallways! As we entered the other room, it was just as empty, if not more. Only a single table stood in the middle of the room. On it was a bottle of red wine, the label on it read, 'Smiths'.

"Wine?" I asked, confused.

Dylan looked at me, picking up the bottle and sighed sadly. "Yes, wine. It's just a pity I can't drink it anymore. It was the last thing I drank as a human."

He then put the bottle back down on the table without it making a single thud. I found this confusing. What did he mean by, I can't drink it anymore? Dylan looked me in the eyes.

"Our bodies are dead, Isabella. If I were to drink this, it would remain in my body for months. Also, if I was to eat something, it would taste like ash and could never be digested. The food would be in our system for three weeks and in that time you would feel it inside of you. The venom in our system is what would break it down," he paused, cringing. "Eventually."

I was too busy thinking in my head that I almost didn't notice Dylan looking at me funny.

"What is it?" I was ashamed to say I loved my voice. It was so beautiful.

Smiling, he said, "You're a very unusual newborn Isabella. Your control particularly intrigues me. I listened to you battle with yourself earlier in the room. You were quiet for about five minutes before you fed. That's a long time, especially in newborn terms, any vampire will tell you this."

Dylan sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Isabella you have six days here before you must move out."

I stared at him, slightly hurt. "Why?"

"Because of the Volturi. They're coming to visit me. They'll be here Tuesday and I need you out on the Sunday, because I need to get yours and your sisters' scent out of the house before they come."

Who are the Volturi? They didn't sound like very nice people if they didn't want other people to be here when they came to visit. I realised then that other scent that had been floating about: vanilla and raspberries must of been my sisters.

As if knowing what I was thinking, he answered the question in my head. "The Volturi are the first vampires and they have one law Isabella, and that law is never tell a human about us, about our kind, our world. If they found out about you, they would kill you. The Volturi aren't that fond of newborns either."

My mind was all over the place at this point. The first vampires? So in a way, the original vampires. I just nodded my head to show that I was listening as he continued.

"I am sorry that I can't be of more help to you, Isabella."

With that, he turned towards the door and began walking to it.

"Where are you going?"

Dylan stopped and turned his whole body towards me. "I'm leaving now, I have something to do and unfortunately I won't be back until Sunday night, so I'm afraid I won't see you again. Good luck and remember, feed regularly to keep the burn away from your throat. There should be enough for you in the cellar to last you six days. Goodbye, sweet Isabella."

Before I even had a chance to say goodbye or ask where he was going, he was gone, leaving me all alone.

Disclaimer: I don't own twilight


	2. A favour for a favour

Chapter two.

New York City, 1943.

After waiting an agonizing two years, it was finally time to go to New York and find Lucia. Thing is, I couldn't seem to find her anywhere. Dylan had said she would be here, in this city but never told me which part or any specifics.

When I had first awoken, I was riddled with thoughts and fears over my missing sister. But I was still quite emotionally devoid of worrying for her. Whenever I tried to think of her, I realized that my 'human' memories were quite fuzzy.

If I ever tried to think of a certain memory, it was like watching a scene covered with muddy water. And with my lack of memory, came my lack of emotion. I found it hard to feel any emotion for anything or anyone in my fragmented memories.

Especially when I couldn't remember why I'd developed the emotion in the first place. I realised in those difficult times of trying to remember who I was and what I was made of, how Lucia must have felt when she left me.

Even still, I desperately didn't want to be a wondering vampire who would live forever, not knowing who I was as a human or what happened to me; anything that made me, purely me.

For nights I sat there, forcing myself to remember my mother, my father, Lucia. To remember meals around the table beneath the candle light and my mother's tender hugs, how they made me feel so happy and safe.

From the moment that I firmly planted my memories back inside my own head, clear and un-filtered, was the moment I began to panic. Where was my sister? Was she safe? Is she all right?

My own mind was the only company I kept, which didn't do me any good. Especially because from the moment I remembered myself completely, remembered my love for my sister, and evidently my new-found worry for her, it tortured me with questions, day in and day out.

What if something happened to her? What if she was dead? What if she was still stuck in her newborn phase? I'd heard that some new born vampires could go insane when alone if they couldn't remember who they were.

Worse still, I no longer required sleep which meant I possessed no escape from any issue that drove me insane. That was one of the things I remembered about myself: I always used to sleep on hard decisions or things that were worrying me.

I was beginning to get so worked up over her, that part of me was even considering leaving New York, to go and look for her elsewhere. But another, less panicked and wiser part of me, knew I needed to stay.

Because if she did turn up and I wasn't here, she'd be sharing the same thoughts that had been exhausting me the moment that I had entered New York. Besides, where would I even start?

So I had decided the best course of action was to stay put. Even if it was only for a little while longer, just in case Lucia turned up before I moved on.

The walls of my throat were scorched with hunger as I made my way through the city, following the familiar scent of blood. Luckily for me, it was night fall, the only time of day I could feed within a big city.

Sniffing the air as my guide, I continued to follow the scent of human blood. I turned the corner, where a large grey building was situated.

My thirst began to grow as I made my way through the doors, coming to a startled halt at the door, as it was hanging off its hinges, preciously holding on with a bent nail. This couldn't be good.

Someone must have really lost the lid on their temper to cause such damage. I cautiously stepped inside, my blazing, red eyes surveying the ruined space.

Broken chairs, a broken down elevator, smashed windows, a three legged table and a decaying plant was all that occupied the space. My eyes fell upon a man, cuddled up against the elevator. He was clearly homeless, and alone.

His looks were wild; possessing an unkempt beard and torn clothing. Foul smells reeked from the dirty, unwashed blankets and piece of wet cardboard that he slept on.

I listened for a moment, not sure if he was dead or alive. He was rather thin and haggard, it was doubtful he had eaten in a very long time.

The only sounds I managed to pick up were of his soft snores and rats scurrying around in between the walls. Silently, I moved over to him, using my vampiric speed. My teeth sank into the flesh of this throat, like a hot knife slicing into butter.

The artery in his neck exploded across my tongue, leaving the taste of his blood in its aftermath. His blood was a welcomed feast, even if it had a slight sour twinge to it. I was right in believing he hadn't eaten in a while.

I was so thirsty and over taken with blood lust that I had begun to break his bones due to the tight grip that I held him with. Surprisingly, he never woke up during the feed.

Once I had moved from his now dead body, guilt washed over me instantly. I had been feeling the same guilt for two years now, every time I took an innocent life. But I had to remind myself that it was necessary, a means of survival.

There was no other way now that I was a monster. Suddenly, a familiar and intoxicating scent hit me. Pear and mint.

Dylan!

I spun around, leaving me facing what was left of the door. I found that I was right. It was Dylan.

I frowned as my eyes swept over his ragged appearance. He looked very weak and tired, with dark circles under his eyes that stood out the most. My face contorted in panic as I rushed over to support his weakened body.

"Dylan! What happened to you? Are you alright? How did you even find me?"

"Isabella," he wheezed. "Good to see you again. As to what happened to me, well that's why I am here. I need your help and in return, I am willing to help you to the best of my capabilities."

He needed my help? With what? I was nothing more than a simple vampire who would be called a 'baby' compared to other vampires that had roamed the earth for centuries. But he was willing to help me in return...

Caught up in my thoughts, it was only Dylan's cough that brought me back to reality. I rushed to answer him. "So, a favor for a favor?"

He nodded weakly. "Yes. But first, do tell me, what have you been doing since I last saw you?"

Two years earlier.

I made sure that I was well fed before I left the house early Sunday morning, which was what led me to the cellar. Whilst I was in the cellar, having my last feed before I left the place in which I'd suffered in agony, Dylan must have silently returned.

Strange, that I didn't smell him. Upon my re-entry into the kitchen, I found a note he had left for me, telling me the best places to go and what direction to go in, in my quest to survival and maybe, run into my sister, without having to wait two years.

He also added on the note, as a strict, underlined rule: Stay out of sunlight! Your skin sparkles. Which left me overly puzzled, not that I hadn't been confused since the moment I woke up.

An immortal life, missing sister, mysterious stranger and heightened senses. You'd be surprised how mentally exhausted you find yourself when your physical body isn't. But, I did trust Dylan.

So I followed through on his judgment. Luckily for me, today was overcast and the sun was nowhere in sight.

As I looked back and re-read the note that he had left for me, I realized there was something else added on to it: France.

My eyes looked out of the small window in the kitchen and I suddenly realized, that France could be my present location, as I had never thought to ask where I was.

I noticed for the first time, in the far distance there was a large, brick wall circling and barricading a small town and castle. Or at least, something that closely resembled one.

I deliberated for a moment, if it was safe to be outside. If I should really put myself in the position where I could expose myself.

Dylan had specifically said the one rule was to keep our secret and make sure, to any extent that a human never found out about us. I decided I couldn't pass up the chance to work out where I was.

I needed to know and honestly, I needed to be outside. It had been days since I'd felt the air on my face and I was curious about how different the outside would be now that I was no longer human.

I opened the back door, the wind curving around my body due to its frozen, solid mass. Stepping outside, my stomach twisted with excitement. I started with a brisk jog, which was still faster than a humans.

Suddenly, I had burst out into a run, my mind became perplexed as a nervous giggle passed my lips and didn't run down my oxygen. The trees blurred past me every time I thought I was going to hit one and my feet barely touched the floor.

Running through the forest, I'm sure, was becoming my new favorite hobby. For a moment, I closed my eyes during my run, knowing I was completely capable of keeping myself upright. I enjoyed the wind in my hair, against my face.

I inhaled; tasting the smell of the damp earth and the coming rain. The drop of left over rain, sliding down a leaf, fifty yards away caught my gaze; beautiful in its simplicity.

I continued heading north, in the direction of the town, until I came to a stop at the edge of the forest.

Looking ahead, to the town that I was heading for, I saw that it did indeed have a castle wall all around it and a small castle inside it too. I made my way over towards the black, iron gate to find it was open.

Slowly, I stepped inside and instantly felt that something was wrong, this place was wrong. I heard footsteps coming towards me, a large mass of humans by the looks of it.

Suddenly, an additional five men started running from around a corner, fully armed and stopped, right in front of me, forming a rather hostile feeling circle.

"Quitter cette ville, demon," one of the group shouted.

Quitter cette ville, what on earth did he mean? I didn't understand a word, apart from 'Demon'. Which was leaving me rather panicked. Suddenly, more French shouting was aimed my way.

"I don't speak French," I informed them.

This seemed to anger the armed guards because they proceeded to draw out their weapons and point them at me. My hands flew up in surrender.

It was funny, that right now, I was the superior species and no amount of their weapons could have killed me; their axes and swords would be useless as would their guns.

But, having recently been turned and still in the mindset of a weak, fragile and very kill-able human, I didn't have any self-belief or confidence to do anything other than submit.

"Elle ne parle pas francais."

After this sentence, one of the guards spat down at my feet. What the hell?! My anger started to seep out from my scared and confused mind and I fought with all my power to push it down. What was it Dylan had said?

I had really good control for a newborn. Not to toot my own horn, but yeah, I really did.

"Nous devons la tuer avant quelle nous tue."

One of the guards looked at me with rage and pure, unadulterated disgust. I ground my teeth in agitation, what the hell was their problem?! The guard to the left then spoke up.

Surprisingly and fortunately, this man spoke English, which made this whole ordeal just a tiny bit better.

"You should leave this place. You are not welcome here," he stated rudely.

What?!

"Why am I not welcome?" I demanded.

My voice was ten octaves braver than I felt, as inside, I felt dreadfully uneasy. The man who spoke English, spoke up again. "You are a demon."

I gulped. I usually called myself a monster, but I guess demon worked just fine. "Why do you say that?"

The swarm of people that had arrived before the guards suddenly made their presence known once more. My eyes swept over their faces, taking in their looks of anger, disgust and horror.

"Il faut la brûler, nous serions en train de faire sa une faveur. Nous serons saints pour enlever le démon de l'intérieur."

That's it! I'd had it with that cryptic, French crap. I wanted answers and I wanted them in English. I clenched my hands together, trying my hardest to tamper down my rising anger and impatience.

"Why don't you just speak some words that I can understand?"

My voice dangerously trembled with rage, my throat starting to throb and burn as one by one, my attention was drawn to the pulse, in every humans that was surrounding me, neck.

"He said that we should burn you – it's the only way to get the demon out of you. By doing so we would be doing you a favor and we would be 'saints' for the act."

I was at the point of losing it. "For god sake, I am not a bloody demon," I lied.

I may have been able to admit to myself, but out loud, I couldn't. "Will you please, stop saying that I am."

Anger laced my words as I squeezed my fists tightly by my sides, fighting my inner demon for control. She wouldn't win today. A soft cough on my right brought my attention to a younger girl, no older than seventeen.

"Then why are your eyes red? Your skin so pale?"

Shit, my eyes. I had expected them to be the same, deep chocolate they'd been since I was born, with honey flecks in them. But of course, they had changed, along with me. Dylan's eyes had been a vibrant red after all, I should of known.

I should have been smarter before I left the house. Now I had pretty much broke the one, small rule we had been given. Don't expose what we are, don't let the humans have even the slightest inkling of our existence. God, I was so stupid!

I tried to come up with some excuse as to why it was that my body was so different, but I couldn't find any. The evidence was there. But now my body was on boiling point, the threatened feeling creating the burn in my throat, which was getting worse.

The flames licked tauntingly at the walls of my throat. The five guards, in unison, jumped back, which sent my instincts out of control and I had to close my eyes to try to calm down.

It worked well enough but I did stop breathing to be on the safe side. Once I could feel the control come back to me, I opened my eyes to see all the guards looking at me with fearful expressions.

"Vous voyez quelle est un demon ses yeux sont noirs ils etaient rouges il ya une minute nous avons de la tuer," a guard shouted.

What in the hell is going on now? Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, everything slowed down. Time its self-slowed, slow motion. Whoa, this was weird.

The guards all had their weapons over there head, running towards me, ready to attack. But, they were frozen, although they had moved not moments before.

I quickly took my opportunity and without questioning it, made my escape and with vampiric speed, left the front gate and ran straight into the forest.

The second I was safely in the forest and away from the armed guards, time restarted again. I pulled out the note that Dylan gave me from my pocket and looked at it.

It seemed there was another town not too far from here and it was slightly smaller too, so I headed towards that town in the hopes of a better welcoming.

Three days later...

I had found the other town rather easily and it took no time in getting there. When I had arrived, I was nervous about anyone's reaction but it went rather smoothly, or at least, as smooth as it could go.

No guards tried to stop me and no humans whispered anything or worse still, pointed at me. Despite being slightly smaller, it was more spacious than the last one and cleaner too.

I found a small cottage in the town which was more than spacious for myself. It took me two days to figure out that I was not the only vampire in this town.

I had just finished replenishing my thirst when I came across a sweet scent. It was faint, but I could tell it was a vampire's scent.

It was too sweet to be a human's. Curiosity got the better of me, and so I followed the scent halfway through town. Each step I took, the scent got stronger and led me a way through the dark night.

I continued to follow the scent, trying not to confuse it with the blood pumping in the humans' veins that wondered around me. The smell took me to the edge of town, where a single building lay.

It was rather old, unlike most of the other houses in the town, which were clearly newer. The outside bricks were covered in moss and slime.

What was most strange, however, was that the front door was wide open and the scent was coming from inside. I cautiously took my time entering the house, listening carefully at each step I took.

A shallow breathing was coming from the room to the right. But suddenly, the breathing stopped altogether and the door burst wide open, causing me to jump back in freight.

It was so unexpected, I instantly crouched in a defensive position, but stood up almost instantly as, stood in the doorway, was a man smiling at me. His red eyes gleamed with delight.

"Bonjour," he greeted.

His red eyes never left mine and a creepy smile graced his un-ageing face. I shifted my weight between each foot relentlessly, not that I needed to any more.

It was actually more uncomfortable to do this than standing up for a long period of time, as a human, had felt. It suddenly occurred to me, that he had spoken French. Great. At least I understood that one word.

But I decided to go with plain, nervous English. "Um, hello," I replied.

A sudden panicked thought ran through my head. Would he understand me, and speak to me? Or would he be hostile and attack me? If he thought I was any kind of threat, I'm sure he would.

But then again, wouldn't he of already done it by now?

"Ah. You don't speak French. That's fine, I understand you clearly enough. Although, I must ask why you have come in to my home uninvited?"

My face must have betrayed my fear because the man did nothing but move away, as if to show he was not hostile.

"I'm sorry. I'm still new to being a vampire. I caught your scent when I was feeding and curiosity got the better of me, I'm really sorry for walking into your home uninvited. I apologize," I whispered.

Respectfully I kept my eyes down cast. I twiddled my thumbs nervously, my chestnut hair obscuring my face. The silence pressed down on me, making me nervous and so I looked up at the man once more, to find his face had turned into a frown.

"It is fine. Although, next time, some warning beforehand might be nice. Now then, you said you are new to this, that would make you a newborn," his voice was laced with surprise and wonder.

"Yes. I have been like this for nearly two weeks now."

"How interesting. Very curious indeed. You seem to have a reasonable amount of control for a new born, although the new born stage will end in about three more months, at the very least. Plus, you don't seem very aggressive, compared to most newborns that I have encountered. They would have killed everyone in this town. Also, they would have attacked me on sight. So that just leaves one question. Would you like to come in?"

I eyed him in confusion. He wanted me to go in there? We didn't even know each other. How did I know he wouldn't attack me? He didn't seem like a danger, but I had to be prepared, just in case.

I guess that's why he stepped to the side, to allow me to enter the room. As I walked past him into the living room, I took a quick look around. It was average in size, had a fireplace against the wall and a couch against the other side of the wall.

I made my way over to the couch then suddenly, the man was already sitting next to me. God, I'll never get used to vampire speed, it was so weird.

"I think we should start with introductions. My name is Declan Dnugh." He held out his hand for me to take.

Softly taking his hand in mine, I shook it gently. "Isabella Swan." I smiled.

Declan smiled back. "It's a pleasure, Isabella. So, tell me something. What do you know of vampires?"

The curiosity was evident in Declan's voice, through the thick, French accent. I shook my head and told him what I already knew of vampires. After I told him, Declan nodded thoughtfully.

"Well I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you would like too. Plus, I could teach you some French as well."

I laughed while deliberating and thinking to myself. Well, some French would come in handy. Besides, I could use some more information on being a vampire.

"Okay - but we just met. How do I know that I can trust you? And you me? How do I know that you won't kill me? And how do you know that I am not dangerous?" I blurted.

I watched as Declan tried his best to keep a straight face but failed horribly, because he then all out laughed in my face. "I am so sorry about that. Well, first off, I know that you will not try to kill me and you have nothing to fear because, I will not try to kill you either." He flashed me a smile, showing off his perfect, pearly white teeth.

"But… how do I know that? And how do you know that I won't try to kill you?" I found myself asking.

Declan stood up from the couch and moved to stand beside the fire. "I guess you can call it a gift, in some way. See, I have this talent that I received as a vampire. I was always good at detecting danger as a human and so it's intensified now. I can sense danger when it's near, by a human or vampires scent, and when I caught your scent, it wasn't dangerous. Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation, and please trust me when I say to you, I have no desire to hurt you. Now! I am going to get myself a little snack, would you like some?"

A snack? "Sure... But, what do you mean by a snack? I thought vampires have to kill their own prey to feed?"

Declan suddenly vanished from sight before returning almost immediately and sitting back down on the couch beside me, holding two glasses, which were brimming with red liquid that made my throat burn.

I took the glass off his hands with a muttered, 'thank you' before pressing the rim of the glass to my lips. I hesitated for a moment before hungrily downing it in one. I pulled a face the moment the glass was empty.

"Cold blood. Really?" I grimaced.

Declan took a sip of his cold blood and smiled at me. "Yes, as we can no longer drink wine, and beer, I thought I would store some cold blood. It was a silly idea, I know. But it's the closet to wine and beer that I can have..." he trailed off. His gaze stared off into space.

I frowned. "Hey, it wasn't a silly idea. It's actually really clever," I reassured with a smile. "How do you store blood?"

I was curious. I'd only ever known to drink from the vein. I couldn't bite once and go back for more because I couldn't find it in myself to pull away from the sweet nectar sliding down my throat.

"I don't kill people, Isabella. However, they are more than willing to give their blood to me."

What rational human would give their blood to him? And how does that work? How does he find it within himself to pull away?

"Isabella, I can see the questions all over your face. I'm more than happy to answer them."

"How do you find the self-control?"

"I don't. I couldn't even if I tried. We have venom laced into our teeth. That's how we were turned."

Wow. I'd never thought into how I'd become what I am. I knew Dylan had turned me, but I didn't know why. He had no obligations to. I decided to ask trivial questions about blood later and start asking the questions I wanted to know now.

Twenty two months later.

In the twenty two months that I had spent with Declan, I had learned a lot about vampires. He had told me all about vampire strength, speed and the way the mindset worked. Also, pretty much everything else vampire related.

I had questions of my own to which he answered, if he knew the answer to them. I told him about the whole time slowing down thing and he was very excited. He had informed me that I, like himself, possessed a gift.

We worked on it together and it took me four months to fully master my gift. Four months might seem like a long time to humans but time passed by very quickly for vampires. We didn't have to do anything else besides focus on learning.

After that, I learned how to control my gift so much better than I could originally. Declan taught me more than just French, although that was the first thing I learnt. From there I learnt Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

I was surprised he knew so many languages – yet he had had a lot of time on his hands to learn. Then he taught me how to fight, which took months to master before I could finally kick his ass.

I'd read endless books from his personal library, while sneakily drinking his favorite scotch.

Then of course, I had asked how old Declan was, to which he just replied, "too old."

However, during my time with Declan and all his teachings, I'd made a friend and an ally. I would always remember Declan and hoped we would run into each other one day.

But alas, the time had come to make my way to New York City, to find my sister. I managed to hitch a ride in a boat, thanks to Declan. I had asked if he wanted to come with me, show me what he knew about the big apple.

But he had said he didn't want to leave France, his home. We sadly said our goodbyes, which was hard. He had told me it was rare that vampires found friendship or love, especially for other vampires, as we were primate creatures with basic, raw desires.

Yet, he had found a love for me and saw me as the sister he had never had. And admittedly, I had found a brotherly love for him. He had wished me good luck in finding my sister and that was it, our last words together before I departed.

Present day.

Dylan looked at me with black eyes. "It sounds as if you've been doing well for yourself," he mused. "But, I want you to agree to help me and like I said, I'll help you in return. Although I doubt I can be much help to you."

"I agree."

I knew that he would be awkward and stubborn until he got me to help him. Dylan gave a happy sigh of relief. "Thank you, Isabella. You have no idea what this means to me."

Dylan then pulled back his sleeve to show a black bite mark on his wrist, which a disgusting black, rimmed red around the edges and oozing with puss. Jesus Christ, what was that?

"What happened? Is that why you look like shit?" I asked bluntly.

He laughed humorlessly. My curiosity was eating me alive. What could make a vampire so run down? Was his wrist infected? How could I help?

"It's extremely painful. But then again, a werewolf bite would do that to you. It was just a shame it wasn't a shifter I ran into. We can survive loss of limb, but I am sure that you already know that."

A what?

A werewolf bite, seriously? Holy shit! I'd briefly been told about limbs and such. Declan hadn't gone into depth, just explained that we could recover from loss of limb.

"Can it be fixed though? What's the difference between a werewolf and shape shifter?"

I found myself asking the question but not really caring about the answer. I found it sad that I couldn't muster up any compassion for him but I barely knew him, even though he did save mine and Lucia's life.

Although, it was a pretty obvious answer that he was going to die, given Dylan's face was expressionless as he answered. "No, there is nothing you can do for it. The only thing that can happen when a vampire gets bitten by a werewolf, is to be killed or die suffering. With a shape shifter, it's more than likely they will tear your apart. You know and that's why I am here Isabella, I want you to kill me, please."

I sighed. Great, just great. Like I didn't feel enough guilt over killing humans, let alone a man that, if not by much, helped me out when I was confused and didn't know what to do with myself.

"I understand that you don't want to do it. But please, I need your help here. I honestly thought you would have been long gone by the time I got here. Actually, where is Lucia, Isabella?"

I'm pretty sure the expression across my face said it all. Well there goes plan B to ask him where my sister was. I took a deep and long, unnecessary breath. "I don't know where she is."

Dylan looked at me with those fathomless black eyes. "There are some vampires who may know where she is."

As soon as the words left his mouth, I felt hope fill my chest. "Who?! Tell me who!" I demanded.

Dylan took my hand in his and whispered. "The Volturi, they live in Italy, in Volterra. Go to them and they might know."

I nodded my head in response. There was just one more question I wanted to ask him. "Is there another way for me, Dylan, so I can stop killing people? I'm sick and tired of feeling guilty every time I take a life."

At this Dylan released my hand and stood directly in front of me. He took my hands once more and placed them on his head.

"On my travels, I heard of a man who doesn't live off human blood. He lives off something else altogether. I don't know what, but I heard the man's name is Carlisle. Good luck in finding your sister."

I knew why he had my hands on his head. He wanted me to rip it off, to kill him. I closed my eyes and pulled. The sound of stone ripping throughout the air echoed against the room.

After I pulled him apart, I burned the pieces. The next stop for me was the Volturi and to find this Carlisle character. Tears that would never fall were burning in my eyes, as the venom in me destroyed the water. As I left the building, the fire roaring behind me, I lifted my chin defiantly.

It was time to sort my life out.


	3. The volturi

The trip to Italy was, for the most part, uneventful. The only interesting thing I could say happened, was trying to find a boat to take me there, which was pretty amusing, if I do say so myself.

I had used my charm on one of the men who took the boat back and forth between Italy and America. I'd never tried to 'flirt' my way into anything as a human, as it was rather frowned upon, and I was stunned seeing him become flustered.

Especially when he began stuttering. Despite my amusement and his apparent discomfort, it secured my move onto the boat, without hurting anyone or exposing what I am.

As soon as I arrived in Italy, I had to wait until night to travel, due to the weather, as the sun was out and ridiculously bright too. After waiting it out all day for the sun to set, I was getting extremely agitated.

Not to mention the fact that I went to two different city's, before thinking to ask a local how to get to Voltera. Turns out, I was a stupidly long way from it, which of course annoyed me even further.

When I finally, reached Voltera, it was just past one in the morning. Almost immediately, I picked up a foul stench that I could not for the life of me describe. The smell was coming from inside one of the tallest, if not the actual tallest building in the city.

It certainly towered over the rest of them, with a huge, beautiful clock tower set in to it. Following the foul stench, I wretched open the door. It had huge claw marks on it.  
>As soon as I was inside, I smelled blood.<p>

It certainty wasn't human blood, but blood that made my undead stomach churn. Moving as fast as my body would go, I followed the blood. Suddenly, shouts reached my ears, followed closely by more shouts of pain.

I came to a stop outside a double door that was already open, sure that if my heart still beat, it would be going crazy with fear now.  
>The sight I fell upon stunned me, so much so I feared I would never speak again.<p>

There, fighting in a large, open hall, as if it were purely normal to do so, were vampires and werewolves. A quick count informed me there was at least twelve werewolves and nine vampires, excluding the ones that laid dead from both sides.

The werewolves were huge, at least seven feet, maybe even eight, at the most. They all stood on two legs, baring their razor sharp claws and a set of large, white teeth, with a very muscular body. I watched them battle for minutes on end, still too stunned to move.

With horror frozen on my face, I watched as a vampire slammed his hand inside the chest of a large, grey werewolf and took it's heart out, dropping the organ to the floor without a shred of remorse.

The man then moved to the right, as a werewolf lunged at him for his fallen pack brother and missed him, only just. Looking about, I noticed there was a small girl in the mix of the fight, who looked way too young to be a vampire.

The most horrifying part was, she was fighting with not one, not two, but three werewolves. By the looks of it, she had already taken down one, who was lying on the ground, whimpering and howling as if it were in a lot of pain.

A loud growl tore my eyes and my thoughts from the battle before me, as I wondered how it had came to be, especially with the young girl involved. I turned my head, just in time to see a werewolf throw itself at me.

With an un-needed, anxious breath, I managed to dodge out of the way. The werewolf wasted no time and was already throwing itself back at me, the jaw of the beast snapping furiously and it's claws trying to rip me open.

With a growl of my own, I charged at it with a speed like lightening. Without thinking, I clenched my hand into a fist and punched it full force, connecting with it's chest and proceeded to send it flying through the air.

The werewolf was only down for a moment before it pulled itself up, howling in pain and began to run at me, swinging its long arms in a fit of rage. With a loud snap, it's jaws missed me by a mere inch that I saw with perfect clarity.

I couldn't manage to pull my speed up to scratch because the arms of the werewolf connected with my upper body, which sent me flying through the air in the exact way the werewolf had moments before.

With a roar I didn't know I was capable of, and made my stomach roll in fear, I ran towards the beast with every ounce of speed I contained. The werewolf imitated my speed, running towards me and promising me a crash like no other.

We got closer and closer, until the point I was sure we were going to become a tangle of stone and furry limbs. I suddenly decided to change my tactics at the last moment and jump over the werewolf.

Then, before it could notice what had happened, I turned and hit the werewolf with all my strength. The grinding sounds of bones breaking meeting my ears like a horrific symphony.

My mind raced to remember how the vampire had removed the werewolf's heart, and suddenly, I had smashed my hand into the body of the beast, coating it with crimson blood.

My eyes connected with his as my hand curled around it's heart and pulled, tearing it from it's chest. With an earth shattering howl, the werewolf collapsed to the floor, it's heart falling besides it's head.

The excruciating sound of stone ripping made me look up from the werewolf I had just killed and caught three of them ripping a vampire apart. It occurred to me at this point that it was just me and the young girl left.

But after a quick look over to her, it seemed that she could clearly handle herself. Closing my eyes, I began to focus on the warming feeling in the centre of my chest, letting it spread through my body like electricity.

As I opened my eyes, I was rewarded with my gift, which began to slow down time. I was surprised it worked, as it was the first time I had ever used it in a situation of need, unlike practising it with Declan.

There were six werewolves left, the three that ripped the man apart and that were clearly heading over here towards me, and the three that was fighting with the girl. No, make that two, as one was still on the ground, writhing around in agony.

Making my way over to them, with the feeling of electricity flowing deep within my veins, I shoved my hands in their chests and ripped their hearts out. I repeated the same to the other one's who had been fighting with the un named girl.

I closed my eyes and let the feeling inside of me go, seeping back into the earth. The young girl looked surprised as to what happened, before looking impassively at me.

"Impressive. Aro will want to see you, follow me."

As I began to follow the young girl, who looked no older than twelve, we went through dark, empty hallways. I'm sure as a human I would have chills running down my spine.

My eyes fell to my blood stained hands, which smelt disgusting. I cringed as I tried my best to wipe the blood away on my clothing. We suddenly came to stop outside a bronze door.

I looked at the girl sideways and noticed she had a thin smile over her face. As she pushed the door open, the first thing I noticed, was there were three other people in the room. Two were sitting on chairs.

These two looked extremely old, where as the one on the right; the third one, looked slightly younger. One man was walking anxiously towards us. His long, black hair flowed behind him as he sped in our direction.

"Is everything taken care of Jane?" The man had a soft, unnerving voice.

The young girl, Jane, nodded her head in approval. "Yes, master. Everything is taken care of, with the help of our friend here."

Jane looked at me with the same, small smile. Her eyes were rather tight, with forced lines besides them on her perfect skin. The man, looked at me and then back at Jane.

"Well, the others are on their way back, and should be with us soon enough. Filthy animals trying to attack us," he snarled. "We will see the end of them, I assure you."

The man then turned his full attention towards me. He held out his hand for me to take. "Aro, Volturi. It is a pleasure, forgive me."

Before I had a chance to understand what he was apologising for, he grabbed my hand tightly in his. The instant our hands connected, I felt as if my very soul was being searched.

All of my thoughts, my feelings, memories and emotions. Everything I had ever been, pouring into him like water falling from a waterfall. Aro nodded his head, a small smile on his lips as he released my hand and my mind.

"Well, Isabella. It looks to me, like you came here seeking answers, and, while I would not usually give an answer unless needed, I believe you have earned the right by fighting along side my dear Jane. I shall grant three questions as a token of my gratitude."

Three questions? How could I narrow down my churning thoughts to a mere three questions? My inner monologue was interrupted by the old man on the left, who looked like a living statue.

"We will also be in-debted to you. Therefore, should you ever need our help, we will help you." His voice was deep and slow, almost languorous.

The younger one, on the right, shifted in his seat. "You should know, child, that the Volturi do not give out opportunities like this to everyone, so I encourage you to use this opportunity wisely." This mans voice was more gravely than the previous vampires.

I then turned my head towards Aro, looking him straight in the eye. My voice was barley a whisper, no human ears would have heard it. "My sister, do you know where is she?"

Aro looked to Jane, who nodded back at him. He then looked back to me, his face softened. "I am deeply sorry to tell you, that I do not know where your sister is. However, I will find someone, to find her and inform you immediately. Do not worry, you will know once we find her."

I nodded my head sadly. I sincerely hoped she was ok. My un-beating heart ached with every day that passed and I hadn't seen her.  
>"There is a man, Carlisle, Do you know where I can find him?"<p>

Almost immediately, the mood in the room changed. Everyone suddenly had odd looks on their faces.

"Ah, Carlisle. Yes, I know him. A dear, old friend of mine, Carlisle Cullen is."

Aro seems to drift off to space for a moment before he pulled himself out of it and smiled at me.

"Carlisle is an unusual person, Isabella. He chooses to live off animal blood, rather than our unique diet. He believes that it is wrong to kill the humans."

Aro then laughed a dark, sinister laugh. A laugh that, for the first time since I had become a vampire, sent shivers down my spine. Animal blood. This is it, the answer to everything.

"Aro, where is Carlisle now?"

I felt nervous for a moment, unsure why. Aro took a second to answer. "In America, New York, the last time I heard. But then, word does get around that he was heading for Alaska."

"Thank you!" I found myself saying eagerly.

I was beyond keen to get out this place, to get out of Italy full stop. Aro then bowed at me slightly.

"Very well then, Isabella. We will find your sister and tell you where she is. Goodbye and thank you, once more."

As I left Volturia, escorted by Jane, I couldn't help but feel extremely happy and hopeful. They would find Lucia and I could begin my hunt for Carlisle, to find out how he lives off animal blood.

My life was coming back together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

A|N: A special thanks to my Beta LeighJ11 Could I get a review, my lovely readers? I would love to know what people think of this story, thanks for reading.


	4. The hunt for Carlisle

AN: I should have mentioned that this is an OOC/AU fic too thanks for reading let me know what you think!

During Jane's escorting out of Voltera, we made a detour. I was so incredibly close to her, attached to her side as if she had her hand wrapped around my arm, we simultaneously turned the corner and for a rare moment, I saw a flicker of a smile on her young face.

It made me slightly nervous. It wasn't a nice smile. More of a sadistic one, made all the more worse because Jane came off to me as girl who never smiled, despite anything happy or good happening in her life.

I grimaced, looking at the damp and cold walls we were passing. I doubted anything like that happened in Janes life. Seemingly out of no where, she produced a small mirror, the size of my palm and handed it to me.

As I took the small object, wondering why she had given it to me at all, I realised I had never seen my face since I'd become a vampire. During my time with Declan, he had always told me I was beautiful, even exceeding the expectations of a vampires beauty.

He'd had taught me how to use my charm and beauty to my advantage, and so my looks had become a weapon and tool for me to use when I felt it was needed. Which left me no reason to think about how much I'd changed on the outside.

Slowly, my red eyes lifted to my own reflection, and I curiously drank myself in. I'd seen my own body during clothing changes, had ran my hands down my hard thighs that felt like the most expensive silk money could buy.

Had squeezed my arms and winced at my strength, the bone as hard as steel, threatening to give way beneath my iron-tight grip. Declan never had mirrors and I'd never asked why. Nor had I ever come across one in my time as a vampire.

Staring down at the mirror Jane had given me, I lifted it higher, so that it was level with my face. My mouth opened slightly, forming a shape of surprise. Staring back at me, was a woman.

Surely that couldn't be me? When I last looked in the mirror, I was a young girl, on the crumbling edge of womanhood. Now I was stood and shaped like a fully grown woman.

At least, if I was to look like this forever, I was attractive: chestnut hair that near enough reached my slim waist, moonlight soaked skin, a pretty smile and long, black lashes. I had an oval face with a perfectly fitted nose.

My head whirled as I tried to make this stranger into me, find a piece of the human, imperfect girl I was and make her into the vampire, perfect woman I was now.

The reflection showed that the woman was absolutely devine, beyond flawless, even in her stillness. Her face just as pale as the rest of her body, the skin smooth and perfect.

Not a single crease, line or pimple on her face. My ominous eyes stood out like a light in the dark. As I kept staring at this stranger, I felt horror run through me, gripping me in an icy panic.

This wasn't me! I couldn't find my face anywhere in the woman's face, no matter how hard I looked in the smooth, perfect planes of her features.

Studying the face and taking in all the details, a tiny thrill went through my body, warming the frozen terror in my chest. The woman's face was so perfectly composed, almost like a carving of a goddess.

Who am I? Came hurtling though my head as I searched for the scar that I had once, on my left cheek and the three freckles that was on my neck. But I couldn't find them anywhere.

Pressing my lips together tightly, I noticed they were full and my teeth perfect. The hair on my head hung loose in disobedient, manic curls. The strands looked gleamed with shine and felt luxuriously soft when I touched them.

Putting down the mirror, I was stunned. I knew the rest of my body was different, more muscular and more filled out. But I never thought that my face would disappear, only to be reborn like the rest of my body, into an incredible, strong and goddess like carving.

Yet that same thought still lingered in my mind; this couldn't be me.

Blurring past the buildings that were covered in complete darkness and through streets that were completely empty, I made my way through the blackout that the city was having, to the building that I was currently using as my home.

Having been here for two weeks, I was only planning to stay at least one more week before heading off towards Alaska to see if I could find Carlisle. Days had past by and still, there was no sign that another vampire was in the area, or even in the city.

On the last day before I was going to head off to Alaska, to search for Carlisle, there was something that piqued my interest. In a small store, I had overheard a conversation that two men were having.

Silently, I had listened in on it. "Yes, that's right. Saved all those people he did!" A tired voice exclaimed.

"Wow, that's impressive. But what happened to him?"

There was a long intake of breath before the man replied. "Nothing, that's the mystery, isn't it? He saves all those people, not giving a care about his own damn life. I mean, who would walk into a collapsing building to save complete strangers? Then he just disappeared just like that." I faintly heard a snap of fingers.

"No one can find him anywhere, not even to say thank you. It's like he wasn't even there to begin with."

"This was all in Chicago?"

"That's right. It was, according to one of the survivors of the collapsed building. They said that the man was an angel or something dramatic like that."

"Ha! An angel, pfft."

At this point, I stopped listening and was deep in thought. An angel, a man who saves people and then just disappears as if he wasn't there. What did this mean? Was it another vampire? Old or newborn?

And if so, how did they find the control to not kill all those people. I mean, there would have been blood, right? And why did he save them?

One thing was for sure, Chicago had got me interested. So pushing the whole Alaska thought out of my head for now, my next destination would be Chicago to try and learn more about this collapsed building.

Just out of curiosity, I decided to keep visiting that small store, to see if I could pick up any more information, but it was to no avail. Leaving New York City behind me, I gathered pace, transforming in a dark streak.

Running through forests and over mountains, past lakes and plain fields, I never stopped unless I needed to feed, then I'd be back on my travels again. After running for more than seven hours, I finally come to a stop just outside Chicago.

Taking an average walk, I make my way to the city, looking left and right. I began to search frantically for the collapsed building. Once I was submerged inside the city, I found my surroundings rather curious.

Chicago was not what I thought it would be. I had expected tight packed buildings, rushed side walks, like New York. But instead, everything was slightly more spacious.

I made my way throughout the city, asking as many people as I could for information, not that there was many at this time of night. Their answers were pretty much the same as each others.

The building, or what was left of it, was over by the large, shimmering lake where the water made tiny ripples under the illumination of the moon. I didn't find out much more of anything that I didn't already know.

Just the location, and the story, a man walked into the building as it was falling apart and rescued seventeen people, then proceeded to disappear without a trace.

Following the directions that I had received, I went to investigate the collapsed building. It took less than four minutes to get to. Once there, the scene in front of me was something I'd never seen before.

I could see that the entire building had come down, nothing was left standing. All that remained now was rubble.

Moving around it, I began breathing through my nose as hard as I could, to see if I might be able to pick up some sort of scent but there wasn't one. Damn.

Breathing again, I decided to move down the path to the left, that led away from the rubble. Following that path, I came across a scent that smelled sickly sweet, almost like orange and toffee.

A flash of De Ja Vu hit me, as I followed the scent. It was like the time I met Declan and Dylan all over again. I came to a stop, hesitating as I realised that it was leaving the city.

Deciding to keep following it, I kept an eye on where I was, just in case someone decided to leap out and try and attack me. It was nightfall after all, a vampires hunting time. Heading into the forest, where the trees grew thick and long, the dirt path ended.

I suddenly realised I was at least two miles outside of the city, if not more. Through a crack in the trees, I could see a fire and hear voices talking, almost too quietly. I could barely hear them and strained my ears to listen.

A moment later, the voices came to a sudden halt. There was an immensely large bang and within seconds, my cover was blown. Shit! Two men appeared beside me, their red eyes locking with mine.

I found myself snarling, my body rumbling and crouched. I watched the two men look at each other and nod. The man on the left had black hair and a scar across his eyebrow. Bitten by a vampire? I wondered briefly.

The man on the right had brown hair that flowed down to his shoulders. The two men then moved, lighting fast, causing me to snarl again.

The man with black hair did the same as did the one with brown and then I heard it, the sound of footsteps gliding across the path, from which I had just come from.

Turning around, I saw four more men blurring towards me. I tried to close my eyes, but it didn't work. I didn't have enough time, which is what I desperately needed right now.

The two men who were now behind me, made a grab for me, barely missing. I brought up my fist to connect with the man who had lunged at me.

The four other men grabbed my hand and squeezed, grinding my rock hard bones together and cracking them instantly.

I let out a howling scream from the top of my lungs, falling ungracefully to my knees. Looking down at my hand, I took note of how badly crushed it was.

The breaks were evident in it. A web of dark purple, lacy cracks decorating my skin.

The six men formed a circle around me, snarling and rapidly making plans. "Burn her! Take her to the fire now!"

One of the men suddenly began to scream. My eyes widened in panic as I started to feel something in my body. A slightly, almost there pain made its way into my chest, then from my feet up to my arms.

I felt warmth flow through me, like going into a nice hot bath. The heat suddenly began to get hotter and hotter, like when I was been turned into a vampire. Closing my eyes tight, I focused on that power inside me.

Trying desperately to find it, but it didn't come. The heat became too much, tearing me apart inside out. Opening my eyes, I was shocked to see the faces of the six men around me, staring at me with wide eyes and feared expressions.

Confused, I wondered what was going on. Why had they stopped? Where they still going to kill me? Following their faces, I looked down at my hands and jumped up in alarm. Fire! They're on fire! Holy shit!

As I jumped up, the men jumped back, staring at the flames in my hands. At first I thought I was on fire, but realised on closer inspection, that the fire was levitating just about my palms.

Suddenly, I knew what to do. Despite being in a life and death situation, not to mention a confused set of mind, I was aware of what I had to do with this new power. Aiming my palm towards the men, the fire shot straight at them, like a jet of water.

The instant it hit them, they went up in flames and began letting out stomach curling screams. The other men, ran away, leaving three men on fire.

Looking around quickly for other enemies and finding none, I closed my hand, which ceased the fire immediately.

Turning my body around in the opposite direction of where we were, I began to run back in the direction of Chicago and not looking back. I desperately wanted to be out of ear shot of that horrific screaming.

Stopping once I thought I was far enough away, I thought about what to do now. Should I go to Alaska and try for Carlisle? Or should I try to stick around, despite there being a group of nomad vampires about?

Making my decision, I decided that it would be best for myself and safer, that I head to Alaska. But my mind was tugged in the direction of New York. What do I do about Lucia? When should I go back to New York again?

I shook my head, biting my lip as I leaned my body against a large tree trunk. For a horrible moment, I wondered if I would ever find Lucia. I wondered if she was dead, if she had adapted to vampire life.

What if she had run into a group of vampires as I just had, vicious and cruel? Intent on killing her. I closed my eyes, my stomach twisting and turning the darker and scarier my thoughts dragged me.

What if I did find her, but she wasn't herself? What if she was vampire Lucia, who hadn't tried as hard to remember her human life? What if she was just a shell of herself, a nomad like the ones I had just escaped?

I slid further down the tree, sitting on the damp forest floor, stirring up dead leaves as I sat. What if I was alone forever? What if I never met a friend, a partner?

And what if I was stuck in the same miserable cycle for all of entirety, feeding and drowning in guilt? I felt as if I was having the vampire version of an anxiety attack.

My head tipped back, the bark twisting my dark brown hair, tearing out strands, leaving my mark; my scent on it. I smirked at the irony.

I pulled my head away, my hands scraping back my hair and flattening to my head. I needed to direct my thoughts else where. I thought back over the last couple of minutes.

I looked at my lowered hands, the injured one already healing. What the hell happened there? My hand was producing flames! Was it another gift of some sort?

I remembered Declan telling me that not all vampires have a gift and now I may have two. What the hell is going on?

With my mind buzzing and my now throat throbbing, I decided to start my journey to Alaska. There was no point in hanging around. I'd have to find a small town and feed on my way.

But I was still curious about the man who saved all those people. One thing was for sure, it wasn't that group of vampires that I had ran into.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


	5. On the way to Alaska

Chapter five.

Rain lashed against my cold, hard skin as I continued to make my way towards Alaska. Running through the forest, kicking the rocks that lay on the ground, trees whipped past me as I continued in what seemed like record speed, even for me.

Coming to a stop at the edge of a riverbank and taking a quick look around me, all I could see was trees and more trees as the forest that I stood in surrounded me, encasing me in it's darkness and secrets.

Listening closely, I could hear birds singing and other animal noises aimlessly moving around. Closing my eyes, I took a long breath of air in through my nose, inhaling the woodland scents that were all around me.

Sniffing the air, I searched for a scent of a town or city nearby. But I could only smell the moss and mud at my feet. Opening my eyes, I huffed in annoyance.

Walking over to a tree, I sat myself down on the wet ground and put my back against the fallen tree, so that I was lying against it. The heavy rain lashed against the exposed skin of my forearms before re-bounding off it.

Running my fingers through my wet hair, I tucked back the small strands that had escaped from my bun and were in my eyes. Scowling, I ducked my head, trying to stop from getting wet.

Looking down at my hands, I stretched them open and closed my eyes. I tried to focus, to shut out all the noises that were around me. I tried to find that warm feeling that had once ran through my body.

I gripped my hands shut before re-opening them. I opened my eyes and looked down at my palms. I wondered if they had set on fire, thinking to myself, maybe I didn't have to have to feel the warmth spread throughout my body in order to obtain my power.

"Damn it," I muttered to myself.

How did it happen last time? Was it because I was in danger? Was that how this... gift, worked? And if so, how am I meant to learn to control it without being able to activate it? Growling to myself, I pushed my body up from the ground and turned, facing the tree.

Without thinking, I vented my frustrations and kicked it, exceptionally hard, sending it rocketing backwards. Sitting myself back down on the wet ground, soaking my white flowered dress, I calmed my mind and proclaimed that I was going to try again.

The tree that I had just kicked now landed on the ground with a resounding thud, shaking the forest. Birds screamed in protest, flying away. Taking a deep breath to relax and calm myself down, I closed my eyes again.

I tried once more to find that feeling of warmth. But my body refused to work with my determined mind, or help me out in anyway. It refused to show me the flames it once had and it didn't look like it would anytime soon, either.

My ears picked up the sound of jumping, sending me on high alert. What the hell is that? Straining my eyes, I looked straight ahead to where the source of the noise was. A scent hit my nose, one that was becoming increasingly familiar.

Sickly sweet vampire. Jumping to my feet, I moved over to another tree. Putting my back to it for cover so that I could see if and where an attack would come from, I peeked around the tree. The jumping was getting closer.

Following the sound and the scent, I figured out the jumping was a vampire, bouncing from tree to tree. I quickly looked up as the jumping got faster, increasing in sound.

Until it came to a sudden stop, one tree away from the one that I was currently leaning against. The snapping of a branch brought my attention to the tree more accurately.

As I looked up, there, sitting in the tree, was a female vampire, her red eyes locked onto me. My mind was screaming danger, but my body was staring back at the vampire, who had her head tilted to the side curiously.

The woman then jumped down, out of the tree and landed gracefully right in front of me. I opted to speak first, being as there was only two of us, there was no need to start a fight. My mouth moved fast as I spoke to the woman.

"Why are you out here?"

I found myself a little bit curious as to why a vampire would be out here, all alone, unless of course, she was feeding. The woman whose eyes still remained locked onto my own, looked past me for the first time.

Examining her face closer, I realised she had a frightened expression. I quickly turned around to see what the problem was.

"Boo!" She screamed next to my ear.

I jumped back in freight as a soft, musical voice spoke. With an unimpressed scowl, I turned back around to see the woman clutching her sides and laughing her head off.

She seemed to finally remember I was there, because she looked back at me with a straight face.

Smothering her laughter she addressed me. "Sorry dear, I just couldn't help myself."

I raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the woman who now stood face to face with me, taking in her appearance. I looked her up and down in less than a minute, evaluating her and whatever threats she posed to be.

She had dark hair that fell level with her shoulders, an average body build and she stood about an inch taller than me. Her face, surprisingly was very warm and loving.

I couldn't help but give the woman a small growl, to let her know that I wasn't impressed with her giving me a freight.

"Why are you here? Are you alone?" I asked.

She just shook her head from side to side in response. "Not alone. No, my sisters and I stay not too far from here, and while I was out hunting, I heard a noise. So I decided to come and investigate, that's when I picked up another vampire scent. So tell me something, why kick the poor tree? What did it do to you?"

The woman smiled at me, flashing perfect, white teeth. I found myself feeling curious, yet again. This woman had sisters. How many? And where exactly did they live?

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I answered her back. "Frustration, I guess. So, why come all this way if you picked up my scent? I mean, I could have easily been a new born and wanted to kill you."

The woman giggled at this and shrugged her small shoulders. "If you were new born, you would have attacked me on site, and not just with your hands."

She winked, licking her plump lips. Oh god. Surely she didn't mean... my lips, did she? If I were human, I would easily be beet red right now.

The woman laughed at my reaction. "I'm guessing you haven't been a new born for a while either, am I right?"

I nodded my head slowly. "Yes, I haven't been a new born for a while. Just out of curiosity, how do you feed all the way out here?"

The woman licked her lips again, whilst staring at me. She made me more nervous than I had felt since I was human, with the way she was looking at me. The only word I could use to describe her expression was... hungry.

The woman moved to the left slightly. "You get wanderers from time to time, who get lost out here... And never return." She laughed, smirking.

She turned back towards the tree that she had jumped down from. "You are more than welcome to come back with me. My sisters would just love to meet you. But, I might just want to keep you all to myself, sweetie."

I blinked. Is she flirting with me? Or is she just damn crazy? I've only just met her, but then again, I'm sure that I'm really lost. What harm could it do?

So with a shrug to my shoulders, I followed the woman who was crouched just at the tree, ready to jump back up it.

She stopped unexpectedly, causing me to accidentally walk into her, which was embarrassingly clumsy for a vampire.

The woman turned her head and grinned at me. "Hey, if you want to touch me, just ask." Her voice was a deep, seductive purr.

I'm sure blood would be blossoming in my cheeks right now if I was still human. Moving back, flustered, I watched as she prepared to jump back up into the branches of the old, large tree.

"Um, wouldn't it be quicker and better, if we just walked to the place that you are staying with your sisters?"

The woman looked deep in thought before answering. "Guess you're right, love. Although, I just love to climb."

Just as she was about to turn and run off in the direction that I was meant to follow, she turned back to me, seemingly remembering we hadn't properly introduced ourselves.

"My names Laura Asnel, by the way."

I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "I'm Isabella Swan."

Smiling, Laura turned and ran off to the left, blurring through the forest with me right behind her, at her heels. Streaming through the forest, I realised that we were going up a hill, in what seemed like no time at all. We stopped at the top of the hill.

Just up ahead was a stone house, a rather large stone house in fact. It was only one floor, with large, haunting trees surrounding it. If I hadn't of been led here by Laura, I'm sure I would never of spotted it.

Following Laura, we proceeded to make our way over to the house at an average pace. Two new, sickly sweet scents hit my nose. Laura stopped just outside the house and turned to face me.

Winking, she grabbed my hand and led me into the house. Taking me to the first room, on the left, she all but dragged me to the couch that laid against the wall, beside the window.

I cautiously sat down on the couch before Laura pulled me onto her lap. Wow... Because this wasn't awkward or weird. Just an average day, having a stranger pulling me onto their lap. Laura twisted her body so that she was facing me.

She gave me a cool smile, as if this whole situation was normal. "How old are you Isabella?"

My ears picked up the sounds of light footsteps only a vampire could make as I answered. "I'm twenty one, in humans years. I've been a vampire for just over two years. I think your sisters are back."

I suddenly felt rude for not asking how old she was, although I didn't know why. I quickly asked. "How old are you?"

Laura smiled even wider and pulled me farther into her body, where I went rigid in shock. "Yes, I think you're right, love, and I'm twenty one."

Huh, twenty one... that's not too bad. But, she looked older than that. I would of said twenty four or maybe twenty five. Craning my neck, I looked to the doorway at the other end of the room as footsteps walked further into the house.

Suddenly, two heads popped around the door way. They grinned, walking into the room. I noticed both of them were stunning. More so because of their smiles and almost giddy expressions.

The one on the left had short blonde hair, just past her ears and the one on the right had long black hair, tied into a bun, like my own. They both stood at around five and a half feet.

The girl on the left had to be the youngest one out of the three of them. The one on the right was clearly the oldest. I could tell, purely by the way she was standing, with a huge smile across her face.

She brimmed full of authority and had a dominating, medium sized build compared to the other one who had a small and thin like build.

The girl on the left stared at me, then looked down to Laura's lap, then to Laura herself and spoke. "Well, well, who's this then, hmm? Picking up strangers again Laura? I do hope you share with us this time."

I shifted uncomfortably in Laura's lap before she spoke up."As you can clearly see, she's not just a stranger, Danielle and I do not plan on sharing her with either of you, she is mine."

I silently had to admit, the way she said 'mine' sent an electric, excited thrill through my body and I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

The girl, Danielle, sniffed. "That's not fair, you never share anything with us and I mean, look at her! She's stunning... The things I could do to that body... The pleasures I could teach her... "

"Danielle, that's enough. Stop annoying our sister, especially when she has company. For all you know, that could be her mate, you know, 'the one'."

The what? The one? Mate?

"What's a mate? And what do you mean by, the one?" I asked, my voice unusually high.

The woman on the right, who had spoken up to stop Danielle, spoke again. "A mate is the person we spend forever with as a vampire. We have one person out there for us, one person to spend forever with. And as none of us have found our mate's yet, I assumed that you could be the one for Laura."

She turned her attention away from me, to look at Laura. "Is she?"

I looked at Laura, wanting to know the answer myself. I would of thought that I would feel it if I was someone's mate. I felt my heart break at the look on her face. Pain.

She shook her head sadly. "No, she isn't the one, Sarah. But I wish she was," she added bitterly.

Sarah walked over to her sister and put her hand on her shoulder. "You will find someone. We all will. I promise you."

Laura nodded her head and I stood up so that Sarah and Laura could hug each other. Looking at the scene in front of me, as the two sisters hugged each other, I felt really sorry for them.

I could tell that they all wanted someone, or as they put it, their mate. Breaking away from each other, the sisters smiled. Then Laura walked up to me and slid her hand around my waist, pulling me back to her body.

I couldn't help myself as I leaned in to her, even breathing in her scent which was amazingly strong peppermint. Watching the two sisters who were now staring at me and Laura, that had her nose nuzzled into my hair, I decided to introduce myself.

"I'm Isabella, by the way." I gave a little wave, embarrassing myself more, like I hadn't done it enough.

They all giggled softly. "I'm Danielle and this is Sarah, although you already know that, being as you've been in our home for the past twenty minutes."

I smiled to myself as I leaned farther into Laura, if that were possible. I just couldn't help myself, she was so comforting. With her arms around my waist, she guided me back to the couch to where she sat down with me in her lap.

"Why were you all the way out here? I mean, its not everyday you see a nomad running about the forest," Danielle quizzed.

Laura blinked in curiosity and moved so that she was now in my lap, yet her arm never once moved from my waist. "I'm actually heading to Alaska and was heading in this direction when I decided to stop for a while."

Laura snuggled up to me as she whispered slyly in my ear. "You forgot to tell them about kicking a tree whilst you stopped."

She giggled softly into my ear, causing a delicate shiver to race down my spine.

Sarah looked highly amused. "You kicked a tree? And why and what did it do to you?"

With a groan which made them all laugh, I quickly answered. "Look, the tree was in the way, ok?"

They seemed to only make them all laugh harder.

Laura smirked. "It's ok, Isabella. That big, bad tree is gone now, it wont hurt you anymore."

I let out a huff of annoyance and moved Laura out of my lap. "Is there anywhere I could go and freshen up?"

Danielle left the room with a streak of movement and re-appeared so fast that you would've never thought she had left, carrying fresh clothes in her arms.

"I would tell you where to freshen up, but I think you're going to have some company with my sister there, so I'll let her show you instead."

What, Laura was going to freshen up beside me? Oh god. I'll see her naked... I should've guessed that this was where it was heading. She has been all over me since she found me in the forest.

I let out a shriek of surprise as I was being lifted up in to bridal position by Laura. No doubt, to go and freshen up.

Disclaimer: I don't own twilight.

A|N: Thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta.


	6. The golden eye vampires

After a much needed, well deserved and interesting freshen up, which involved Laura helping me take my clothes off and put clean ones on for me, I felt cleaner than I had in days. Hand in hand, me and Laura raced through the halls, to the living room.

Upon arrival, we headed straight for the couch. The instant Laura sat down, she pulled me onto her lap and started nuzzling my hair. Wondering to myself where the other two were, I felt my hand being kissed.

I turned around in Laura's lap to face her, raising an eyebrow. She grinned wickedly at me in return. I was still finding it a tad weird to think that we hadn't known each other for a day and she was kissing me like I was her long lost lover.

I mean, what made her think that I was into women? In fact, I decided to voice my question. "Laura, what makes you think that I like this? You kissing my hand, snuggling into me and the general all over me act. I mean, have I given you an impression that I like women?"

I batted my exquisitely long eyelashes at her, informing her of my playfulness before I threw her a small wink.

She rolled her eyes at me, unfazed. "Oh please. I can tell that you're into me. Don't believe me?" She challenged at my raised brow.

"Fine, I'll prove it. You relax into me, your eyes rome and drink my body in, as if you're thirsty for me. Yeah, I caught you looking when we washed together," she smirked.

Oh dear god, why was she so straight-forward? Getting up off her lap, I walked over and sat down at the other end of the couch, pointedly away from Laura, who stared at me like I had kicked a puppy.

Using her vampiric speed, she moved over to me, scooped me up into her arms and sat down on the couch so that I was back being in her lap again. With a sigh, I tried to stand once more, but her arms tightened around me.

At one point, I was sure my rib was going to give way. The feeling of her soft, plump lips on my ear sent a small shiver racing down my spine.

"Do you like me?" She breathed huskily.

I frowned in concentration. "I don't really know you Laura."

That wasn't a lie and I hoped it wouldn't hurt her feelings. I didn't know her, at all.

"Then why don't we get to know each other a bit better, hmm?" Her breath seductivly tickled my ear.

"What's the point? I'll only be leaving for Alaska soon," I stated bluntly, my red eyes looking straight on.

This hurt her, that much was obvious. The look on her face made me cringe. I hurriedly tried to form a better reply before the damage was done.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I know what you must think. I just got here and already I'm leaving, but I have important stuff to do."

She nodded her head in understanding. "What kind of stuff do you have to do, how important is it? I mean, surely you can stay for just a little while, at least?" Taking a long pause and a deep breath she didn't need, she added, "please."

God, why did I feel so bad? I didn't even know this woman. Why was I such an emotional vampire? This was abnormal. Declan had constantly told me that a new born was a basic instinct robot. Eat, fuck, kill, as he'd so crudely put it.

So why was I different? Why did I care so much? I turned around so that I was facing her, my eyes boring into hers. I nervously licked my lips. "Theres is a man who can help me. I don't want to kill anyone anymore."

The mention of my guilt started a fresh round of aching, heavy on my chest and in my bones. If I didn't seek help now, from this Carlise character, then my guilt was going to eat away at me until I'm sure I'd go mad.

Suddenly, an idea formed and unraveled in my head. "Hey! Why don't you come with me? You and your sisters. We can travel together. What do you say?" I grinned.

As I looked at her, I could tell that she was in deep thought about this. Turning my attention elsewhere as a door banged open, Danielle came hurtling towards me, closely followed by her sister grabbing my shoulders.

She looked me straight in the eyes, her face unreadable, black eyes clawing into my soul. She must of been starving. "Are you saying that there is another way a way to live, without the guilt of taking innocent lives?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

My chest tightened in array of emotions, shock, surprise and disbelief. They didn't want to live like this either? I thought it had only been me. I quickly nodded my head. I looked around at the three of them, positively beaming.

"Animal blood. A man named Carlisle lives off it, but I'm not sure how. That is why I must head to Alaska, but I don't want to go alone. You should come with me, all of you."

My gaze swept across every woman's face, lingering on Laura's. "We can have a better life. Well, as best as it can get as a vampire."

Without warning, Laura and her sisters threw themselves at me and proceed to hug me tight to them, with squeals of joy. As they jumped around, a breathless laugh past my lips. Thank god I didn't need to breath.

"When do we leave? Should we go right now?!"

Wow, talk about your early bird. Well, I was planning to go now or sometime today. Hm.  
>"Sure, why the hell not?" I grinned.<p>

My grin then slipped into a frown. "Are you guys really sure you want to leave your home, your comfort on a chance? Because that's all this is," I whispered softly.

The answer I got in return was a flat out look on each woman's face that looked like a silent, 'seriously?'. Laura broke away from her sisters, who seemed to have not noticed, as they were still jumping up and down. They took my hand in theirs to join in.

After they calmed down and we pulled away, all of us smiling like sharks, Laura took my hand and placed a soft, delicate kiss upon the back of it.

"Of course we will come with you, Isabella. You did not have to think that we wouldn't. We have suffered this long enough. I hate the guilt that hangs about with me after I kill, although I may not show it sometimes." She hung her head in quiet shame.

Giving her hand a little squeeze, I gave her an encouraging smile. "It will be fine," I promised.

I looked up at her sisters and raised an eyebrow at them. They had already packed, suitcases in hand. When and how in the hell did they do that?

"How on earth..." I trailed, indicating to them.

They both smirked at me before bursting into peels of laughter. "It seems, Isabella, that because of our dear sister there, your mind doesn't pay attention."

With a little wink threw in my direction, they made it clear with their tightening hold on their suitcases, they were ready to go. I smiled to myself and stood up, taking Laura with me, glad that her sisters had got her things for her as well.

"Aren't you guys going to miss this place?"

So many questions that hadn't been asked, and they were still pretty much like strangers to me, yet I felt safe in their company.

Danielle smiled at me whilst shaking her head. "Nah, we won't miss this place. It's not like we have been here our whole lives. We only lived here for about a year and a bit. I mean, it's a nice place, but I'm not sad to see the back of it."

I nodded in understanding, that was fair enough, I guess. Now then, which way was Alaska? I briefly looked around, my gaze snagging on Sarah. There was something off about her, the way she was standing and the way she was looking.

"Are you ok Sarah?" My voice came out more gentle than the usual, bell like sound that it made.

Staring back at me, her eyes were a dark red, unlike the usual bright red that they normally were. "Yes, fine. Just a lot to take in. One moment, I'm happy, and the next, overwhelmed with different emotions."

I nodded in understanding before turning to Laura. "Which way is Alaska, do you know?"

Laura was about to answer but Daniele beat her to it. "Alaska is a few miles from here, Bells."

Bells... really such a bad nickname. I scowled at Daniele, unimpressed.

"My name is Isabella or Bella, not Bells, Dani."

It was highly amusing watching her face turn into a scowl and snarl at me. "Fine, Isabella. But my name is not Dani." She stuck her tongue out at me after with a smile.

I burst out laughing. I was quickly learning that Dani, as I had now dubbed her, was immature, like a little child. Feeling soft lips on my cheek, I turned my body towards the source, facing Laura who was smiling to herself.

"Come on, Alaska awaits."

She then began tugging me with her towards the front door, causing another round of tinkling laughs. Stopping just as we got outside of the house and turning around to face it, Laura, Sarah and Danielle had different emotions on their faces.

With the forest behind us, we turned and ran to it, my hand still in Laura's. As we sped through the forest together, I enjoyed the gorgeous sights and the trees whipping past us, followed by small rivers that we jumped over.

Slowing myself down as we came upon a beautiful sight, I tugged Laura to a screeching halt, which left a domino effect upon her sisters who stopped beside us. Now we stood on the edge of a cliff face that revealed a stunning display for us.

From tall mountains, to shimmering lakes, to evergreen trees and to plain wilderness. It was truly a sight to behold and I was glad I wasn't alone.

I turned to face Laura with a soft smile. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Have you been to this place before?"

She softly shook her head. "No, none of us have. But you're right. This is the most beautiful place I have every seen in my forty years as a vampire."

What?! She was forty years as a vampire and I'm only two! I wondered how old her sisters were then?

"Should we make our way down towards that mountain over there?" I pointed my hand towards a mountain that was just down the slope of the cliff face we were standing on.

"There's a cave over there, we could check it out, might be someone in there for us to feed on."

The three of them silently nodded their heads in agreement. We set off down the slope of the cliff face and towards the mountain that had the cave. Speeding down the cliff slope was so much fun.

Me and Laura jumped over rocks and dodged trees together. We laughed to ourselves like immature school children. When we finally stopped, just as we reached the land, I playfully pushed Laura, nodding my head towards the small cave that stood nearby.

We took off again, finding Danielle and Sarah already waiting for us at the cave. They rolled their eyes at our immature behaviour. "Come on, children, quit messing. We're here to find someone you know."

Now it was my time to roll my eyes. Suddenly, a scent penetrated my nose. It wasn't human, nor vampire, but animal, and the sound of two heartbeats came from inside of the cave.

We cautiously stepped into the darkness, me following the scents and the heartbeats, with Laura, Danielle and Sarah right beside me.

We walked deeper into the cave, which was split open into a mouth and there, lying on the floor, was two, huge, grizzly bears, sleeping.

"Welcome to Alaska," Sarah whispered.

I thought they hadn't been here before? I shrugged my shoulders at myself. I turned to leave, but then a new scent hit me. Sickly sweet. But a tad different. It must be a vampire.

With my nose flaring, I crouched defensively, as did the other three. We all looked ahead, searching. I could see nothing, not even with my enhanced sight. The scent disappeared almost instantly.

"Maybe we should stay here?" I whispered.

Sarah shook her head in disagreement. "It could be the man we are looking for, Carlisle. What if it is him? We must go out and check. It would be wiser to stick together too."

She was right. It could be him. I nodded in Sarah's direction for her to lead. She nodded back then blurred out the cave, followed by Danielle, Laura, then myself. As soon as I was outside the cave, I could tell that something was off.

Danielle, Sarah and Laura were all crouched, the three of them had their backs together. I quickly joined them. I did the same so that we were all looking in a different direction.

There was a heavily sickly sweet scent about the air and it wasn't there before.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Four vampires in our territory. We cant have that now, can we Tanya?" A woman with gold blonde that ended in curls at her back, asked from thin air.

Another, to the left, spoke up. "No, no. We can not have that, but what to do with them? Hmm. What do you think Kate?"

A voice from behind me spoke up. "We should kill them, of course. But then again, they might be harmless or possibly passing through."

The woman stared at me with gold eyes. What was with the gold eyes? Apparently, the others noticed this too, because they reaction was from curious to defensive.

It was positively unnerving how wide and innocent their golden hues were, compared with their threatening words.

"Well, are you here to tell us, or will you be killed?"

I quickly felt for Laura's hand, grabbing it with my own and giving a gentle squeeze, compared to my tight grip.

"We're here looking for a man named Carlisle. We were informed that he might be here. Have you seen or heard of this man?"

The woman looked curious for a moment before blurring over to the other two women. There was now three of them, standing ready to attack and the power radiated off of them in heavy, dangerous waves.

The woman on the left, had blonde curls with a strawberry tint in them and the other woman, had longer, paler hair as straight as corn silk. They both snarled at the four of us before the strawberry tint woman spoke up.

"Yes, we know him. Have you come here to kill him? Who sent you? Tell us, now."

I was extremely nervous and a little bit frightened if I was honest. These women looked powerful, beyond most vampires that I had seen, aside from maybe the Volturi.

Finding my courage from somewhere, I stepped out so that I came be face to face with them.

"We need his help, we don't want to kill people anymore."

The three women exchanged looks, before dropping their posture, their three gold eyes all pulsed into mine.

A|N: Thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta.

Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine.


	7. The Denali's

Nervousness creeped and pulled tightly at the pit of my stomach as the three gold eyes all bore into my own wild, red ones. I took a step back cautiously, watching intently as the three vampires kept their eyes on me.

The way their bodies stood still as a rock, made me more aware of my own rock-still stance. Tanya stepped forward, putting out her hands in a way that said she meant no harm.

"You want to find Carlisle to stop yourself from killing innocent people?" She asked, her voice full of authority.

Her toned dripped with demand and wrapped around me like a tight rope, squeezing my lungs and cutting off an air way I no longer used. Before I could nod my head and answer her, she spoke again.

"So you came all this way to find him yes? Irina don't you find this, curious?" The corn silk blonde woman, Irina, nodded.

I nodded my head mutely. I had a feeling she wasn't asking me for an answer but more so clarifying to herself.

"Yes, we came all this way to find him. Now you obviously know who he is. So maybe, you could tell us where?"

The sudden feeling of a hand coming into my own made me look down and smile to myself, knowing it was Laura's. I quickly snapped my eyes back to Tanya, not wanting to take my eyes off her in case of any spur of the moment attacks.

Keeping her eyes on me, she began to walk back towards her sister, across her face, I could tell she wore a fake smile. "Yes, we know of him, and yes, we know where he is. But we won't be telling the likes of you."

Her voice had a hint of everything in it from sarcasm to just plain annoyed. It made my skin crawl. A gust of wind blew my hair from side to side, loosing the stands that were in my bun. Tanya and Irina shared curious gazes.

They suddenly spoke unanimously. "What is that smell?"

Irina pointed her nose in the air, sniffing intently before her eyes landed on Sarah's, the woman blurring over to her. She delicately sniffed the air that surrounded Sarah and then leaned in to sniff her at the neck.

Irina's face suddenly took on a dreamy expression. "You smell wonderful," Irina hummed.

I turned my attention elsewhere, away from the weird sniffing thing that was going on, feeling as if it was a private moment I shouldn't be allowed to be apart of.

Looking at Tanya, I could see that she was acting in the same strange way as the other woman. Tanya's nose was suddenly at Danielle's throat, pretty much skin tight against it and she seemed to be breathing hard.

A small moan escaped her lips. My cheeks felt prickly, as if I was trying to blush but had no blood to push to the area.

This is what I call awkward. Two women, sniffing the necks of two other women, moaning about a smell, that I can't even smell. Kill me now.

With a small embarrassed huff, I looked over at the last blonde who was all but bouncing on her feet, a huge smile adorned her pretty face.

I let out a large 'ooph' as the blonde appeared before me, throwing herself into my chest and holding me in a bone crushing hug. Ouch.

"What's going on?" I muttered into her halo of golden hair, practically inhaling the strands.

This did not lie well with Laura, who let out a loud and possessive warning growl to the woman who then stepped back almost immediately. Her eyes drifted to Laura, her mouth twisting into a sarcastic smile.

"Well do excuse me. I did not know that she was taken. I'm Kate, by the way." Her voice was dry as she took a step back.

Laura's hand gripped mine tightly as I turned my face towards her, shaking my head in my obvious disapproval.

"Why are you acting like that?" I muttered to Laura before turning to face Kate. "Hey, what's with the hugs and what are them fools playing at that? And I'm Isabella. This is Laura, those two over there are Danielle and Sarah."

I pointed an accusing finger at the two women still sniffing at Sarah and Danielle's necks and pulses. Kate giggled and regained her happy posture from moments ago.

Bouncing about like a rubber ball, she smiled whilst looking over at a clearly uncomfortable Sarah and Danielle who were still standing there, being sniffed.

"I believe, they may be mates."

Wow. I didn't expect that one. I softly let go of Laura's hand before I moved over to where Kate was standing, watching the scene in front of her. She turned her head at me and smiled softly.

She pointed over at Tanya. "That's Tanya and that's Irina," she finished, pointing to Irina. Like I hadn't already worked that out. Even still, I didn't say anything.

"Our house is not far from here. Perhaps we should go back and get to know each other," her voice was thick with obvious flirtation.

A loud snarl tore through the air and I felt hands on my body and an arm clamp around my waist. I let out another 'ooph'. Laura snarled at Kate who giggled back.

"Stay the fuck away from her, you bitch."

Kate's giggles abruptly broke off, so harshly my stomach tightened in anticipation. "Well do excuse me, little Miss jealous, just who the fuck, do you think you're talking to, huh?"

I shifted my body in front of Kate's, placing my hands on her shoulders to stop her from squaring up to Laura, who looked murderously enraged. Her face scrunched up with anger, clearly she was ready to go toe to toe with Kate over me.

"Easy guys. Kate, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop winding Laura up. Laura stop trying to bite her."

I looked over at Kate who smirked at Laura in triumph. She caught my raised eyebrow and nodded her head, fixing her eyes on me and smothering her smirk.

"I'd like to take you to my home now," she motioned to myself and my small group.

"You however, are not welcome," she shot the last sentence to Laura, who pouted in response.

She shrugged her shoulders a moment after. "Like I wanted to come anyway," she sneered.

I twisted to face Laura, reaching for her hands and taking them in my own, rubbing my thumb over the top of her hand. I had to admit, I loved the feeling of my smooth skin against hers.

"Hey. Look at me," I coaxed, taking her chin and raising her eyes to mine. "I'm going to go with Kate, to her house. You should come too. She's only winding you up, just ignore her."

I turned and rolled my eyes at a rather loud cough behind me, which I knew belonged to a grinning Kate. "You know I can hear you, and I don't have all day."

"You're right Kate, we don't. We just have all of eternity."

Kate yawned and nodded at my poor joke. "You're right, but could you please wrap it up with your super angry, jealous and possessive girlfriend, please? So then I can get you all alone in my house and I could get between those voluptuous thighs of yours..."

I tightened my hands grasp over Laura's, rooting us both to the ground. I smiled at Kate, repressing the urge to grin. I mean, I can't help it.

She was such a wind-up and it was kind of funny, not that I would say that to Laura. I may just lose my head. Laura let go of my hands with a scowl.

"Just go, Bella. I'll see you later and don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm just going to stay here, with the other four. At least the other two look more reasonable than that thing over there," she growled, jerking her head over towards Kate who had her mouth open in shock.

"Hey! Who are you calling 'thing'?! I am not a 'thing'! I think you'll find that I am a very sexy creature, thank you very much. And as for yourself, well lets just say that you're very lucky we don't pick our mates, otherwise Isabella wouldn't be with a mutant like yourself."

My eyes travelled between the two squabbling women as I decided it would be best to step in, before things got violent, and by the looks of it, Kate was much, much older than Laura, so she would no doubt have more experience in fighting than her.

"HEY, both of you, stop arguing with each other," I snapped.

I looked over to Kate with narrowed eyes. "Kate, stop trying to get a rise out of Laura." I then turned my head towards Laura. "Don't insult Kate. It doesn't help the fact that you have gotten off to a bad start. And by the way, might I add, that if I could chose a mate, there is no doubt that it would be you."

I turned my head back towards Kate who was looking extremely confused and was blinking rapidly between us. "You two are not mates?" She mostly directed the question at me, to which I answered a simple, "no, we are not mates."

My stomach wriggled at the beaming expression that flashed and stayed on Kate's face. She looked way too happy and it made me even more nervous that I didn't know why.

A nudge in my shoulder alerted me to Laura. "Are you two going or what?"

I glanced apprehensively over at Kate, who was smirking mischievously. She nodded her head in response. I sighed and leaned in towards Laura, expecting a peck on the lips.

But instead, she had different plans and pretty much latched her mouth onto mine, sealing my lips to hers and staging a battle between our tongues.

"God. Do you two mind? I would very much like to get going, if you'll please. Before I end up joining you two and that is something I don't want to do with Laura. But hey, a girl just can't help herself."

I softly removed my lips from Laura's and smiled at her warmly. "I'll see you in a little while then, ok?"

She grinned at me whilst looking over at Kate, her expression turning smug. "Oh yes."

I give her a quick peck on the cheek before I moved over to were Kate was standing. "So, where do you live?"

She pointed a long, pale finger over a mountain in the distance. "Over that mountain. It shouldn't take too long to get there."

I nodded my head, raising an eyebrow at her. "And what about the huge lake that lies before the mountain? Because as far as I can see, it cover pretty much the whole of the land down there. We aren't going swimming now are we?"

Kate laughed at me, as if I was the silliest little girl in the world, which I was a little bit annoyed at. "No, we are not swimming. There is a path through the forest on the left, to which you can't see and that leads through a narrow path between the mountain itself and then our home is only a couple of minutes away from that."

I nodded my head then motioned for Kate to lead the way. I turned around and smiled one last time at Laura, standing near her sisters who were now, I'm glad to say, in deep conversation with Tanya and Irina.

She smiled back softly before I turned back around and was ready to follow Kate. Kate took off without any backwards glances at Laura, or her sisters. I followed silently right beside her, on her left side.

She turned her head towards me, smiling, then sped up. I grinned to myself as I did the same. But Kate was faster than me and she was well ahead of me.

Thankfully not too far that I couldn't see her. I pushed at my limbs, trying my hardest to speed up, so that I was beside her. I growled in frustration as I lacked.

She stopped suddenly, wearing a smug look. "What's wrong? Can't keep up with me? You should see me in bed, love." She winked.

I shivered softly at the thought. "You would never see me in bed, Kate." I rolled my eyes.

She tilted her hips to the side, as well as cocking her head. "We'll see about that, Isabella. I'll get you in my bed and maybe I might be decent enough to let your girlfriend in too."

I mock growled at her. "Yeah, she would never join you, and you would be wasting your time with me. Now why have we stopped in the forest, aside from the fact that I had to catch up with you, hm?"

Kate looked at me with a smile. "I like the sound of the forest. If you want, we can move along. Just thought that I would stop for a moment and listen to the beautiful sounds around us."

I don't know why, but I was quite surprised that Kate had a sensitive side. "Hey, take your time, Kate. Sorry. I just thought that maybe you were being annoying on purpose or something."

I moved over to Kate with my vampiric speed. She took my hand and instantly I felt a shock run through my body. My hand tingled in hers, unlike with Laura. I raised my eyebrow at her, wondering if she had felt it too.

Clearly she had, because she was looking at me with the same bewildered expression. She leaned her head towards me slowly and breathed in my scent. Her face scrunched up, as if she was extremely confused. It was adorable.

"I'm taking it that you felt the shock too?"

Kate nodded her head stiffly. "Y-yes," she cleared her throat of her stammers. "I felt it."

"Kate, are you ok? You look really off... What's wrong? Was it that shock?"

Her hand tightened in my own, almost enough to cause me pain. I bit down on my bottom lip to repress crying out.

"W-we, we should get moving. It will be easier to explain at the house, other than out here."

She released her grip on my hand and started to walk ahead. I quickly sped up to follow her.

"Kate, what would be easier to explain back at the house?"

I was extremely curious as to what she wanted to say and what that shock was all about. She stared blankly ahead of her.

"I'll explain back at the house," she replied coldly, chopping me off.

"Ok... But is everything alright, I mean, one moment you were fine, the next you're all... I don't know, quiet? I guess, or different even."

I cringed at the sound of my voice echoing through the still forest which sounded rather empty, being devoid of bird calls or any animals.

"Yes, I am fine," she replied crisply. "Now follow me, please."

She suddenly took off, turning into a moving streak of moonlight skin and golden hair. I found myself following behind her as we moved through the forest that only deepened and got thicker with less room to move.

After several minutes, I was sure we were at the heart of it. Continuing our way through the forest, past trees that had fallen down and small rivers, we arrived at a tiny pathway that Kate had not mentioned. Neither did she turn around or even smile at me.

Gone was the playful Kate, as I'd previously seen. I had to push myself to catch up to her, falling at her right side. I tried to make eye contact with her, thinking that I could pull some sort of face and get her to crack a smile.

But her gaze was locked straight ahead. I tried not to get upset, because it was irrational. I barely knew her. But it made me feel slightly un easy, as her mood change had been so abrupt and despite not knowing her well, I felt I could trust her and her family, like I had with Laura and her sisters.

But there was something wrong and it had something to do with that tingly feeling when we touched each other's hands.

Not to mention the fact that she had leaned in and sniffed me like Tanya and Irina had done to Danielle and Sarah. Was I her mate? If so, shouldn't of I done the smelling thing?

Or was there something else going on? Something that I didn't know? Or even something I've never even heard of? Either way, she did say she would explain it to me once we were back at her home, which by the looks of it, we weren't far away from.

I would get my answers soon. The tree's started to thin and Kate began to slow for a few moments before coming to a complete stop, just at the edge of the forest.

"Over there is the path, Bella."

Kate pointed a long finger towards stone's that lead over the river to the other side of it. I nodded my head absently while motioning for Kate to go first, which she did without hesitation.

Taking a few steps back for leverage, she ran and jumped. I watched as in almost slow motion, she flew through the air, her arms on either side of her body and legs wide, bent and waiting to embrace her impact to the soft mud of the forest floor.

My eyes flickered over the rocks that Kate had jumped over, which were encased in freezing cold gushing water, with white foam.

Kate waved over to me. "Come on Bella, just jump over like I did. It's not difficult, I swear."

I rolled my eyes, annoyed that she would think I was scared to jump. I imitated Kate, taking a few steps back before running and jumping through the air. I suddenly found myself flying, the wind throwing my hair back over my shoulders.

Within seconds, with a small thud, I landed gracefully on my feet beside Kate. She wore a small smile across her face, which made me smile in turn. Maybe she was feeling a bit better now. I hoped so.

"Nice one, Bella," her voice was thick with happiness.

"You ok now? You seem happy again." I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Yeah, I feel a bit better now that I have sorted things out in my head... Come on, my house is not far from here."

I nodded my head, remembering what our goal was and trying not to get so lost in my worry for a woman I barely knew. "Lead the way."

Kate instantly took off towards the mountains with me right beside her, the wind whipping through our hair. I knew the air was cool, although I couldn't feel it how I knew I should of, if I was human.

Still, the whisper of an old feeling felt great against my face. Kate began to slow down again. I noticed that the small pathway that lead through a crack in the mountain was the reason why.

Watching the back of Kate as she walked through the crack, I followed after her.

"Hey, Kate, it's not much farther now, right?" I shouted ahead of me, although I knew it wasn't really needed. I could of whispered it and she would have still heard me.

"Yeah, it's not far now. Just down the hill and past the small forest that lays ahead," Kate called back.

She turned her head over her shoulder, grinning cheekily. "Why, getting tired?"

I rolled my eyes in answer as we continued down a hill and past more forest. I swung my arms lazily beside my body as I walked right behind Kate.

My eyes roamed the surrounding area as I wondered idly if I'd ever feel the burn in my lungs after walking for so long, like I did as a human. My eyes suddenly fell to Kate's ass; I couldn't help but look.

It was rather perfect. Tight and round. I was beginning to wonder if I was staring because I thought her ass was hot or because I wished it was mine.

"Hey, stop looking at my ass, Bella," Kate scolded through a small giggle.

I felt the same tingly, stretching feeling in my cheeks as I had earlier, when I should be blushing. How did she even catch me? Did she turn her head around too quickly for me to notice?

As if reading my mind, Kate shook her head from side to side, swinging her long, gold hair. "I felt your eyes on my ass."

She continued to giggle as I forced my eyes to look anywhere but at her backside. How on the earth can you feel eyes on your ass? Coming to a stop beside Kate, I found my breath taken away.

In front of me, was something that I would remember forever. We were standing at the top of a small hill, a dirt path lead down the hill, disappearing into a snow capped forest.

Mountains surrounded us on just about every one of our sides, as far as I could see. The small forest came to a stop beside a lake in the distance, the large mountains dusted with snow as was the ground around me.

It was so cosy yet so wide open, I couldn't help but feel a familiar pang in my chest.

Home.

Something I hadn't had in a while. I turned to Kate, my face pushed into an expression of awe. I couldn't help but find myself blown away by the beauty of this place.

"Kate..." I breathed breathlessly. "This place is... Just... Mind blowingly stunning, it really is."

Kate nodded her head in agreement, smiling widely. "We live to the left. You can't see our house because the forest is in the way, obscuring us. We like it that way," she shrugged absently. "It's just down there. We'll be there in no time."

Without another word, she began to make her way down the dirt path that lead into the forest, with me, which was quickly becoming familiar, right at her heels. Blurring past the snow capped tree's, we made our way through the forest.

It didn't take long to reach where Kate had been leading us. Slowing down until we came to a complete stop, we stepped out of the forest and came into a small, plain field with a house in the centre. The house was abnormally large and very open.

The windows were wide and winked in the dim sun, it was two stories high, as far as I could see. As I walked closer to the house with Kate, two new scents hit me. I stopped and automatically grabbed Kate's hand.

She looked at me quizzically for a moment before shaking her head, banishing my worries. "That's just Carman and Eleazar. They're like me and my sisters, they're our family. You have nothing to worry about."

Nodding, I started to walk ahead. I keep my eyes trained on my surroundings, despite Kate's comforting words. The mountains and surrounding scenery continued to take my breath away and caused a smile to stretch across my face.

Before we even reached it, the door swung open to reveal a tall, brown haired man, wearing a kind and trusting smile across his face.

He instantly stretched out his large, pale hand. "Hello there, dear. I am Eleazar. It's a pleasure."

The mans face had curious lines etched into his skin, boarding on excited. Finding myself cautious all of a sudden, I took in his appearance, trying to size him up.

His short brown fringe hung across his forehead, his eyes were as gold as Kate's and his skin as pale as mine, with a slight contrast of olive. He stood at a tall, 5'11, towering over my mere 5'6. I gently shook his hand.

The man let out an overly excited, "ah!" Startling me into dropping his hand.

He smiled reassuringly at me, a chuckle pulling at his lips. "How impressive. Never before have I seen such a thing. How curious, how very curious indeed."

Eleazar continued to mumble 'curious' over and over to himself and I couldn't help but be drawn in to what he found so 'curious'. What had he never before seen?

I was about to ask him when a woman stepped out of the door. She too wore a genuine, warm smile on her face.

With dark brown hair piled on her head, pale skin with an olive hint to it as well, gold eyes and standing at a short 5'5, she reminded me of a motherly figure.

I'd go as far as to say, she reminded me of my own mother. My chest tightened as grief washed over me. I pushed it away as she bundled over to me and pulled me into a gentle hug.

I repressed the urge to bury my face in her neck and pretend I was hugging my mother. She pulled back after a moment, resting her small hands on my shoulders.

Smiling, she proudly showed off her perfect, pearly white teeth. "Hi, I am Carmen."

I smiled back at her, gently dropping my hands from her hips where I had stationed them after she pulled away from our hug. I looked over her shoulder at Kate and Eleazar, who were heading into the house, deep in discussion.

I quickly fixed my eyes back on Carmen, smiling brightly. "Hello, I'm Isabella or Bella. It's nice to meet you, Carmen."

Carmen only smiled in response and nodded her head, before taking my hand and starting to lead me into the house.

Stepping into Kate's home, I was blown away by the sheer size of it. I thought it had looked big from the outside, but clearly the inside was bigger.

Straight ahead of me, was a large set of stairs that lead up to the second floor, on my left was a room to which I presumed was the living room, as I heard Kate and Eleazar talking there.

To my right was another room and a room straight ahead of me, just past the stairs. Carmen continued to lead me to the room on the left, my hand in hers.

She immediately lead me to a couch once we entered, where both Eleazar and Kate were sat talking.

Kate looked up and smiled at me. "You took long enough."

With a huff, I crossed my arms over my chest after releasing my hand from Carmen's, who had left my side to sit beside Eleazar.

I rolled my eyes at the blonde. "Yeah, yeah. I was only like sixty seconds behind you."

She shrugged her shoulders, smiling to herself before leaning back into the couch. There was a small cough to my right which came from Eleazar, who smiled at me.

"Bella, I was wondering if I could talk to you for just a few moments. We do not have to move from the couch, if you do not wish too."

I nodded cautiously. Eleazar seemed nice and trust worthy, but I didn't want to leave to be with him alone. "Yeah, sure. What would you like to talk about?"

Eleazar straighten up so he could look into my eyes. "I want to discuss your gift, or to be more precise, your gifts."

I blinked in confusion. How did this man, who I had just met, and never seen before, know about my gifts? He must have noticed the distress written across my face because he held up his hands in a surrender position.

"My own gift, is that I can detect if someone has a gift. No matter if they are human, or vampire. Although as a human, they tend to not be able to use their gift. They only begin to wield it, should they unfortunately be turned into one of us," he paused, mouth set in a grim line.

"When we shook hands, I detected your gifts. To have not just one, but three, is something entirely un-heard of. Which is why I find it so very curious."

I blinked several times in surprise. Eleazar had a gift, which can tell if other's have a gift and he could detect three from me. Surely he was wrong? As far as I knew, I only had two.

I cleared my throat softly. "Wow, that is a very impressive gift, Eleazar. But, please do tell, can your gift detect what kind of gift others have? Or is it simply that you can only detect gifts?"

He nodded his head, my eyes connecting with his own. "Yes, I can detect what sort of gifts that people have, Bella, and you have very unusual and interesting gifts, that I had yet to come across."

I moved my body slowly to the front of the couch rather than lean back into it. "Can you tell me what gifts I have?"

Eleazar nodded. "Yes, I can. You have fire, the will to create and destroy it. You have the ability to transform any vampire human. Though this is only a cloak and might come in useful... It will hide you and whoever you choose to any and all supernatural creature(s). Finally, your last one, slowing time down."

I tried to keep my mouth from falling open in surprise. Well, this was new.

"Your gift with the appearance of the human, will in due time, come about. But I cannot tell you when, as I do not know. Now Bella, I will leave you alone with Kate, as she is desperate to talk to you as well."

With a final smile at me, Eleazar left the room, followed closely by Carmen in the matter of seconds. I looked over at Kate with a raised eyebrow. I could see the swirl of a thousand emotions running across her face and in her eyes.

She gently reached out, as if afraid to scare me and took my hand in hers, beginning to caress it gently whilst staring into my eyes. She took a deep breath, that I know she didn't need.

Her eyes closed briefly then opened again, this time, they were a shade darker.

"Bella, when we first touched each other, I thought that you were my mate, that is why I sniffed you. By the way, you smell... Incredible. Like freshly picked raspberries and a summer meadow. I'm not going to lie to you, I wanted to jump you and drag you to my bed." Her eyes met mine, hunger creeping into them. "I still do."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, tightening my legs as my stomach pooled with need.

"But I won't, of course. At least, not before we get to know each other. Which is why I asked Carmen and Eleazar to leave."

Ok, so she thinks that we could be friends? But then, how come she doesn't smell wonderful to me?

"Kate," I whispered gently, not wanting to be cruel. "You don't... smell good to me... and I don't feel anything as mates should... I don't feel like I've just found a piece of myself..." I frowned softly at the look on her face.

"I understand. I do not feel as if I've found my mate either. But I do feel you in my blood. You call to me, Bella."

I nodded, only half understanding. I understood why she would want to get to know me at least. Kate squeezed my hand tight and nodded her head, positively grinning.

"So, I'll start the 'getting to know each other' process. When I was human, I was an attendant or in simpler terms, a bodyguard. To a highborn, female Slavic tribe. I am well trained in the tribes martial arts and I was very protective of my mistress."

She took a breath before she continued. "I was guarding a cavern when Sasha attacked. Along with her daughter, Tanya. Sasha was so impressed by my courage to defend my mistress and the cavern, that with the physical resemblance myself and Tanya shared, she had Tanya change me into a vampire."

I nodded my head eagerly for her to continue, finding her story highly interesting and wanting to know more. But she was clearly choosing the watered down version and skipped her transition memories, which I appreciated.

"I quickly found myself loyal to Sasha and Tanya and developing my defensive power, which is psychic electro kinesis. A decade later, Sasha invited Irina to join the family. We all saw Sasha as our mother."

Watching the emotions on Kate's face as her story continued, I saw an array of them, ranging from happiness to sadness.

"We were left orphaned after our mother Sasha, created an immortal child, which is, if you do not know, illegal. The child burned in our mother arms in front of us. The Volturi spared our lives because we knew nothing about the boy. Up to that point, we had been nothing but strict to our laws."

My heart twisted for Kate and her sisters. To feel such loss.

"After the loss of our mother, myself, Tanya and Irina sought out men and women alike. Be it vampire, or human, to distract us from the pain and loss of our mother. The human relationships never lasted long, because we would kill the men and women shortly after we slept with them." Kate looked slightly bashful as she spoke.

"Some of the losses of the men and women who we were rather fond of, made us remorseful of our actions. It was Tanya, that told us drinking animal blood could replace the nutritional needs without decreasing our control around humans."

Taking another deep and long breath, she smiled at me and I gave her hand a little squeeze for support. I admired how strong she was to relive the horrors of her past.

"I was very keen to try the method and we moved to Denali, to adapt to our vegetarian diet. By the time that Carmen and Eleazar had joined us, we had all grown adapt to this particular diet and we enjoyed human intimacy without the need to kill anybody after it. Not too long ago, we came across Carlisle and his small family, who lived the same way as us. We now consider them to be our extended family."

She smiled fondly into the distance before turning her gaze on to me. "Now that I have told you a lot about me, I would like to get to know you. If that is alright with you?"

I opened my mouth to agree before a burn sprung in the base of my throat. Great. I felt shameful, needing to feed around Kate. Especially as I was on the diet of humans too. I was disgusted with myself.

"Kate... I need to feed. Is there anywhere that I can go?" I asked timidly, avoiding eye contact.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kate stand from the couch, pulling me with her by our joined hands.

"Great! You can start our diet right now. It might take some time to get used to, but it is the perfect time to start."

Before I could even get a word out of my mouth, Kate began to drag me towards the door, to start my new diet.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own my own ideas and characters in this story.


	8. Trying something new

With Kate pulling me out the door, I started to find myself wondering if I would be living here in the foreseeable future.

I mean, I know that I had just met Laura and her sisters and now Kate and hers, but we all seem to be getting along fine enough. Was it enough to live together?

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I realised that Kate was dragging me to the left of her house instead of to the right, which was the way we came in.

"Kate, why are we going left? Shouldn't we be going right, I mean, I know that there's forest all around this place but I saw bears in a cave back there."

There was a small chuckle from ahead as Kate kept pulling on my hand, leading the way. "Yes, there are bears and other animals back that way, Bella. But for your first hunt, I thought it might be better if you started off with something that won't exactly fight back and try and kill you. Not that I wouldn't want to see you go toe to toe with a grizzly bear myself, or that an animal can kill you. But well, you get the idea."

I nodded my head at Kate, smiling to myself as I wondered what I might hunt. As we got deeper into the forest, Kate stopped with me right beside her, with my eyebrow raised, curious as to why we had stopped all of a sudden.

"Kate why-"

"Shh! Can't you hear that?" Kate smiled at me, raising her own eyebrow to challenge mine.

Frowning, I sucked in a deep, unnecessary breath and listened hard, straining my ears as to hear what Kate could. At first, all I heard was birds singing in the treetops, the wind blowing the snow that covered branches.

Listening harder, I was about to ask Kate what I was meant to hear before three heartbeats hit my ears.

I sharply looked to Kate, excited."I hear them, Kate!" Taking a deep breath I added, "I smell them too."

My voice was low as I spoke to Kate who nodded her head, smiling proudly. "Yes, three heart beats. Three deer's. They are pretty far away, for a human. For us, however, two minutes tops. You will see them in a minute and be quiet too, that's the fun part about hunting. The sneaking around. Although, if you want, you can run straight in. They won't and can't, out run a vampire."

Eager to get started with my new diet, I waited until Kate took off again, leading the way throughout the forest that she knew better than me, although it wouldn't of been difficult to find the deer that lurked in here.

We came to a stop beside an old tree that has fallen down at some point in its life. We peered over the log, watching the deer that was ahead of us, eating away at the grass. Curious, I motioned to Kate to inform me of what happens next.

"Watch me first. Follow right after me. I'll go for the one on the right, you go for the one on the left. Ok?" Kate whispered to me.

Nodding in understanding, I crouched a little, imitating Kate as she prepared to hunt. I watched her carefully as I was eager to follow her every movement.

"On the count of three. We will go together, ok?"

I locked eyes on the moving body of my prey. "Ok."

Our voices were so quiet that nothing could have heard us, except maybe a vampire. Looking straight ahead, I knew Kate was going to start whisper counting.

"Ok, on my go. One-"

Taking off jumping, without finishing her counting, passing right over the log, Kate had caught me completely by surprise and was already sinking her teeth into her deer when I had jumped over the log.

Kate had scattered the other two and now I was chasing the one that I had set my eyes upon. Storming out through the clearing, past the trees, I caught up to my deer and dived right for it, circling my hands around the body of it, which caused it to panic and try to jump away.

I had a good grip however and so it continued to jump around in my arms. Feeling sorry for the animal, I wrapped my hands around its neck and pressed in one angle with gritted teeth, snapping it, before sinking my teeth into the neck of the beast.

Instantly, I could feel a difference. The blood tasted different than a humans, which I expected, but not to this degree.

This blood was more shallow and did not taste as good as humans. It was less sweet and sugary, like drinking something bland that has no taste, yet somehow felt like it was helping my strength and body.

I could feel a difference in me already. In a way, the blood felt better, knowing it wasn't a humans. Yet, at the same time, I knew this would take a while to get used too.

The snapping of a twig made me turn around, guessing who it already was by her scent. Kate was giggling. There was no surprise there.

Standing up and wiping my mouth of any blood that was on it, I smiled without teeth, worried they would be stained a grizzly red.

"Hey. What you giggling about? Maybe it was that silly stunt you pulled, which made me run after this thing." I nodded my head towards the deer lying on the ground.

This made Kate burst out laughing, her musical laughter echoing in the forest around us. "Yes. I'm sorry, but I thought it would be funny. You did a good job though," Kate added as a praise.

I rolled my eyes at her. I would of loved nothing more than to give her a good punch in the face at that moment. "So what now? I still feel thirsty and my throat was only burning mildly. Although, this does seem different and If I'm being honest, maybe another hunt will do me good... something bigger perhaps?" I questioned.

Kate's face lit up. I started to smirk. She must of had an idea or something with that pleased look on her face. "Yeah, you get that. You need to hunt at least twice to get the burn away from your throat. That is the only disadvantage of being a vampire who lives off of animal blood."

Walking slowly over to Kate, I smiled at her. "What do you have planned? That look across your face says it all."

Chuckling more to herself than anything, she just stared to walk away, with me having to catch up to her.

"There are more animals in this place, you know, and I am going to take you to a place that's just full of them. It's beside a small river. It's not far from where we are actually, a five minute run, if that. Just follow me."

With that said, she took off again, with me right behind her. I couldn't help but grin to myself as we ran through the forest, the wind whipping across my face as we ran.

"Hey, what kind of animals is it, Kate?" I found myself wondering aloud.

"Bears. Really big bears, bigger than the small grizzly's that was in the cave that you were hiding in and you will get one hell of a fight too."

Laughing, Kate continued to lead the way past a small stream which we jumped over, only coming to a stop just outside a cave. Reaching for my hand, Kate grabbed it and pushed me to the side of the cave.

"Wait here, Bella. There is only one bear inside the cave, at the moment. Usually, there loads about here."

Releasing my hand, Kate dashed into the cave. Staying crouched to the side of the cave, I waited patiently, looking up at the sky. The clouds were dark and I started to feel the droplets of water hit my face, causing me to groan. I didn't want to get wet.

With a load bang, I was brought back to life. A laughing Kate came hurling out of the cave at alarming speed and straight towards me. Kneeling down beside me, Kate kissed my cheek, laughing widely. "Good luck!" She shouted.

The sound of huge paws hitting the ground caught my ears and not two seconds later was there a bear charging out of the cave.

Moving so that I was directly facing the cave, the bear now came out of it and stood up on its two legs, showing its massive size to me.

While knowing I couldn't be killed by this animal, I was a little nervous going toe to toe, as Kate put it. With the bear falling back onto its four legs, it charged at me, roaring as it did so.

I quickly moved to the side, the bear missed me and I decided that now would be a good chance to hit it.

I swung my hand into the rib of the bear, sending it crashing down to the ground with a low growl. The bear tried to get back up but I must have broken its rib or something along those lines.

To make sure that the bear couldn't get back up, I stomped harshly on its legs to break them, before diving for the neck of it.

Finishing and standing up when the blood came to a halt, I found Kate standing over me, her hands on her hips and she did not look very happy with me, which made me chuckle for once. Obviously, that did not go the way she wanted it to.

"What the hell was that? You're meant to fight it, Bella! The poor beast never stood a chance!"

I tried but failed to keep a straight face, which upset her more. She growled at me, her lip curled. "You think this is funny do you?! Well take this!"

Kate put her finger on me and I felt a massive shock go through me, sending me jumping back in freight. "Hey! What was that for? You big bully! No need to shock me, it was the bears fault, not mine."

"Yeah, whatever Bella. Lets get out of the rain, I know a little cave near my house that we can go to. We will have privacy there, it's my own little place that I go to without anyone else being there."

Nodding, I got up and dusted myself off as the rain begun to pick up. Taking off after Kate, it didn't take us long to get to the small and rather cosy cave that she was talking about. We stepped inside and removed ourselves from the rain.

The cave was small-ish, with a tunnel that wound around to the back of the cave. There was a cute, small table and a couple of chairs with it and candles lying on rocks, already alight.

Moving over to the table, I took a seat in one of the chairs, with Kate sitting beside me, staring at me expectantly, which kind of made me nervous.

"Um. Kate? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Snapping out of her daze, Kate shook her head. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking away. "It's just that, you said you would tell me a bit about yourself."

Oh right. Yeah, ok. I could do that, I mean, it's only fair, since she told me a bit about herself too.

"Ok, yeah. Sure. So, my full name is Isabella Swan. I am nineteen. Well, that's the age I was when I was turned anyway. I was born in Auckland, New Zealand."

Kate raised her eyebrow at this, cutting me off. "Agh, so that's why you have a funny accent then."

I shook my head with an eye roll. "I do not have a funny accent, Kate. Anyway, like I was saying," I threw her a pointed look. "I was born in New Zealand, with my mother, father and sister. We were pretty wealthy, I guess. We lived in a nice village, just outside Auckland. We lived with nice people."

Taking a deep breath and preparing myself for what was about to come, I pressed on. "I was in Auckland at the time when on my way back, I saw heavy black smoke in the sky," I paused, swallowing, my eyes already burning.

"Our village was on fire. I ran home and when I got there, I found my father dead and my home had been set on fire, along with the others. There was no sign of my sister, who had stayed home to help mother. Panicking, I ran about the house, desperately trying to find my mother and sister. When I heard a scream. Terrified, I ran outside and to the back of the house," I paused again, my eyes fixing on a jagged rock.

"There were men dragging my sister by her hair along the ground. My mother was desperately trying to fight them to get her back. They had weapons: big knifes and other things, guns too. They didn't just raid our house either. There was loads of people being abducted, for whatever reason. I do not know. But what I do know, is that some of the men weren't human. Some of them they were like us, vampire, supernatural. Call it what you want. Fortunately, the one's my mother was fighting were not. She punched them but they just dragged her off of them then threw her away." I stopped once more, my lips quirking in a sad smile.

"But my mother was a fighter. She kept coming back. I remember just standing there, watching as my mother continued to fight and I didn't even help her, frozen. When I could finally move, it was too late."

Sniffing a little to myself at my memories, Kate took my hand in hers and squeezed it. "You do not have to continue, if you do not want to."

I shook my head at her. She deserved to know. She told me all about her past, and her mother. "No, I will continue."

I plunged on. "They had enough of her. My sister was screaming, as were many people. All round us, people were being shot, killed, right in front of me. Men that were trying to save their wives, children, continued to be shot, stabbed, you name it, for their efforts. But my mother kept fighting and they had had enough of it, so they grabbed her and dragged her away."

Taking another slower, deep breath to steady myself, I continued. "I watched as they shoved her against a tree and slit her throat, killing her. That was when I found my voice, my body, my control. I screamed so loud, the men heard me and two of them charged at me. They grabbed me and started dragging me away just like the other women. I struggled and fought, in memory of my mother, who I cried for throughout my fight, but to no avail."

I bit down on my lip, encouraging my throat to open up to repress the horrific wheezing that was beginning to creep into my voice. "I was put onto a boat and taken to France, which is where I woke up as a vampire. But where in France they took me to, I don't know. Where we were, I woke inside a hut, strapped to a pole along with other women. There was so many of us," I whispered absently, sucked into the memory.

"My sister was there too, although she was still out. I managed to get free, but my foot was damaged and I ended up falling on it. I couldn't walk and when one of the men walked in, he beat me senseless. My sister was awake for that. But no matter how much cursing she did, it was no use. The man just kept beating me and tied me back up to the pole, tighter this time, so that I wouldn't escape."

Turning my face so that it was inches from Kate's, I saw an array of mixed emotion in her eyes and I knew she was being as comforting as possible to me.

I continued, but the memory was hazy. It was one of the memories I hadn't wanted to hold on to.

"More men came into the hut and took the women away. As they did that, more women replaced them. I constantly thought about my mother and how I should have helped her fight and of my father too, how I was already too late to help him. But what could I have done? Eventually, it was my turn to be dragged away and I watched as my sister screamed and kicked for her life, but she couldn't do anything more than watch."

I turned my gaze from Kate's again. My eyes sizzled away the tears that wanted to break free and stream down my cheeks. "I was taken to a cage, which I was put in for days and I constantly heard men talking about a man named Joham, and that he was killed. That someone else, someone worse, had started taking over, but I did not know what they were on about."

Kate snarled. My eyes snapped back to hers, catching them turning a beautiful angry and lustful black. "Joham, that little bastard. I hope he died a painful death."

I tried not to get caught up in what she knew or how she knew it, so I pressed on, wanting to finish my story. "It was night. Too dark. Something happened. A vampire saved my life, and my sisters too. Lying in my cage, the blackness of the room was so bad that you wouldn't be able to see anything, no matter what. My cage door was unlocked. There was screaming and shouting and me and my sister, plus other women were being dragged out of the cages, by men who were all panicky and shouting. Even the vampire men."

"I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage. It was so black, I was sure no one would see me. So I hit the man who had a hold of me. Then I bit him on the nose, causing him to scream and unfortunately alert others. Another man hit me across the head with something hard and heavy, splitting it open. Then he ran away with the other men. My sister was screaming for me but never got a response as I lay there, drifting in and out of unconsciousness. When I woke back up, I was in a vampire's house, along with my sister, who I never got to say anything to, because she disappeared and I haven't been able to find her since. I have even been to the Volturi, no luck."

Kate pulled me into her body, hugging me close to her. She was very quiet and her eyes were as black as the night sky. I snuggled into her, closing my eyes and breathing in her scent. I was feeling better already.

Before I knew what was happening, Kate was up on her feet, snarling again, only this snarl was far more dangerous. "Kate, what's wrong?!"

I stood quickly, so that I was level with her. She was sniffing the air. I did the same and suddenly it became clear why she was acting this way. Vampires were in the area, and they weren't none of us.

"At the house. Come on Bella, quick!"

Kate took off, racing past me with a look across her face that I couldn't understand. I raced right after her, running through the forest. I began to hear shouts, bangs, screams and other noises as we came closer to the house.

We burst through the tree line, coming to a stop at the sight of Tanya and her family, who were fighting with vampires and Laura and hers, fighting with werewolves. Kate ran directly for her family, fighting on the left. So I did the same on the right.

AN: thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta.

Thank you so much for the reviews! It helps me to know what you readers are thinking. I also changed where Bella came from so that she adapts and makes sense to the story. This Bella is not the Bella who was raised by her mother and then sent to Charlie. It is all different.


	9. Help a coven out

Racing over to Laura and her sisters, I caught a glimpse of Kate doing the same out of the corner of my eye. As I reached Laura, who was fighting with a male werewolf, I made a grab for him from behind and slammed him down into the ground.

A slight tremor vibrated along the ground, a spray of mud and rock splashing up and on to my face. I wasted no time and shoved my foot in his face which connected with a sickening crunch.

Before I had time to figure out where everyone was and if they were safe, another werewolf leaped at me. They hadn't transformed yet, the only indication to their supernatural side being their horrendous stench.

I noticed that the others that surrounded me were still in human form. Either way, they were still as powerful. Grabbing me by the throat, the man threw me down into the ground.

My back connected, hard, with the cold, hard, stone driveway of Kate's home. I rushed up, back up on my feet, where I was determined to stay and ran at the man who was now shifting into his werewolf form.

With a tightening of my hands, I was distinctively aware of something hot and warm burning across the skin of my palms.

As I continued to charge, I threw out my hand and watched as my flames connected with his face, which released a throaty and pained scream from deep within his chest.

I quickly looked around and found my next kill. I charged at the two women fighting Sarah and aimed my flames at them, leaving behind the same devastating effect on their now bubbling skin.

Pushing my luck, I grabbed Sarah by the arm and shoved her out of the way as another male came hurling towards us. I shoved my fist in his face, connecting with a loud 'smack' before spinning around and aiming my fire at another on-comer.

By the looks of things, they had assumed I was the most deadliest one here. The one they had to take down first. Great, I thought bitterly.

Knowing that Sarah had rejoined the battle with her sisters, I looked over to make sure they were ok. As I turned my head back around, I caught site of yet another, large guy charging at me.

I watched it in slow motion, as he jumped in the air only a few feet away from myself and exploded into a werewolf. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. In a way, it was beautiful. Pure magic.

He emerged, with pure silver fur and was racing right for me. I didn't have enough time to move, or focus my concentration enough to home in on my gift, and I was too stunned by this creature.

Before I knew it, I was catapulting backwards after the werewolf crashed into me. My legs and arms froze in odd angles as I flew, before crashing on to the ground.

I heard a great rumble of cracking, and I didn't know if it was the ground or me. I raced against time to get back up, but I was already being knocked back down again by the wolf.

With a ferocious roar, it grabbed my arm tightly, picked me up and chucked me away. I flew through the air once more, like a boneless rag-doll, before once again my back connected with another object.

It was a tree. My impact made it split straight down the middle, before it lost the war against it's own balance and toppled over, landing across my arm, the one I'm sure I'd cracked open earlier.

I couldn't help but let out a small whimper of pain, my eyes flying to assess the damage. My smooth skin had lacy cracks in its marble.

As I looked down at my hand, I remembered something that Dylan had said about getting bitten by a werewolf. What am I talking about? That was how he died, end of. I just helped him. God, stop!

Stop getting pre-occupied in your own thoughts! Within my bizarre moment of panic, I didn't even realise that the silver wolf was now just above me, looking at me in a way that said 'sweet dreams, bitch.'

Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the impact, or the moment the wolf bit my head off. It never came. My eyes flew open, to find Laura and Kate fighting it side by side.

I would've smiled, had there not been more important matters at hand. Like helping them. I lifted myself back off the ground and made my way over to where Kate and Laura stood, fighting the beast. Before I could get there, I found my way blocked, by a vampire.

Not one of mine. Knowing that my hands were no longer on fire, I ran at the female vampire, stretching out my arms to grab her. She dodged me with ease, seeing that move coming from a mile away.

Swinging her arm back, she threw it forward, intending to connect with my chest. I dodged her arm and ducked under it, smashing my hand to her side in the process.

With an animalistic growl, I grabbed her by the hair and made sure to get a good grip of her face. Struggling and kicking, she managed to get free, but only just. Turning to face me, she snarled before lunging at my throat.

I quickly moved out of the way, managing to get my arms behind her. I was able to pin them to her side. She hissed frantically at me. I knew I had to be quick. I kicked her leg, hard, so that she stumbled to her knees.

Then, before she could gather her bearings, I grabbed her head and ripped it off clean. Dropping it to the ground, I quickly looked around to see where Laura and Kate were, finding them still straight ahead of me.

Looking from side to side to make sure that I didn't have any more company, I closed my eyes and started to search for that feeling inside me. The powerful, burning fire.

It came quick enough, and just in the nick of time too, I might add. I was slightly surprised, usually, my gift took longer to reach. I opened my eyes again, pleased to see it had worked. Time had slowed down.

I raced over to where I thought assistance was desperately needed, starting with Kate and Laura. The silver wolf had his paw up in the air, claws out and was only inches away from taking Kate's face off.

I quickly grabbed the paw and threw it backwards, before punching him in the centre of his chest. He rocketed backwards, soaring through the air in a blur of silver.

Looking behind me, I saw that Danielle and Sarah were in trouble, as six vampires stood around them. Without thinking, I ran straight for them, closing my eyes on the three second trip to where they were.

The same hot burning manifested in my hands again. I started to grin and wanted so desperately to scream a triumphant, 'yes!' I put my hands forward and watched in sickening delight as the flames erupted from them, causing a wall of fire to attack not just one vampire, but all six.

Now, they had a shower of flames engulfed around their bodies. Shock began to creep into me as I desperately tried to find anyone else to help.

My eyes hunted for Tanya and her family, to see how they were doing. Tanya was nowhere to be seen, but as for her family, they were doing ok.

Two vampires VS three. My eyes skipped around the scene, trying to find Tanya. Terror began to grip at my chest until I finally spotted her, exactly where I kicked the sliver wolf.

Blurring over to her as fast as I could, I felt shockingly dizzy for a vampire. I had about ten seconds before time started again. The wolf had its face right beside Tanya's, its teeth only inches away.

I watched as the animals teeth came within biting distance, it's massive jaw was already over Tanya's head and was closing faster than I would've liked.

I threw myself at the beast, knocking it back and just in time too. The moment I connected with it, time began again and the sound of a jaw closing was all that could be heard.

Throwing myself back at the beast after it jumped back onto its legs, I grabbed its middle and stared squeezing, crushing it's lunges.

His huge jaw were snapping away at me and I continued to crush his body, the sound of crunching meeting my ears over and over again. It whined and snapped like mad, making my stomach roll over.

The wolf threw back its hind legs, causing me to fall off and crash to the floor. Expecting a fight back, I got up instantly and prepared myself for another attack.

There was no need. The werewolf took one look at me through its angry black eyes and ran off through the forest. Spinning around on the spot, I ran back up towards the house.

The instant that I came into view, both Laura and Kate came hurtling towards me and wrapped me into a tight hug.

Laura grabbed my face so hard I thought she was going to cave it in on itself. Her eyes bore into mine, jarring me. "Are you ok?! I think you saved all of our lives there."

Kate practically shoved Laura out of the way and pulled me into her very own hug. "Thank you so much. But what happened to the silver wolf?" Kate questioned.

With a sigh of frustration, I shook my head whilst muttering, "he got away, Kate."

Releasing my body, Kate turned to Laura and grabbed her head, pulling her into a kiss. Which simultaneously made me wet with need and stunned me at the same time.

"That is my way of saying sorry, Laura." Kate positively beamed at her, then turned back towards her family.

Laura stared after Kate in disbelief and confusion. I then rounded on Laura, placing my hands on my hips. I snarled at her. "Enjoy that did you?!" I demanded of Laura, who looked in dream land at the moment.

Her eyes turned towards mine and she looked down at the ground. "What the hell was that all about? Anyway, I'm sorry, I should've stopped it."

Smirking, I lifted up her chin and gave her a kiss of my own. Though it didn't last long before we were shouted over by Tanya and her family.

"Bella, Laura, you really need to see this, quick!"

Stopping the kiss and gently pulling away from her lips, I took hold of Laura's hand and ran over to where Tanya was standing. She was looking down to a body on the ground, with a letter in her hand. She looked up at me in disgust.

"Filthy half breed's. Look at this!"

She gave me the letter, which I took carefully and opened it up.

Dear, Simon.

We are currently tracking a group of vampires, north. After leaving the camp not two days ago, we found a girl. After hours of talking to said girl, we found out her name is Lucia Swan.

My hands tightened on the edges of the paper, instantly crinkling it and making it harder to read. I tried my hardest not to tear it in two.

She told us all about her family and guess what? She was one of the ones that had escaped during the uprising, that lead to Joham's death. She was one of the slaves that had been captured and rescued by a vampire.

She told us she has a sister, and the current whereabouts of her is unknown at this time. But, we are going to keep looking. Lucia is a beauty too. I know you will like her when you come to visit. The weapon is almost ready, a few more tricks should have it up and running. But just now, they are doing very well. They make good hunters. I'll seeing you soon,

M.

Only one thing was going through my mind, and that was, they have Lucia. Turning towards Tanya, I could tell she knew, as did the rest of them, judging by the looks on my their faces.

Kate must of told them. My eyes burnt away tears that would never fall and release some of the agony in my chest.

She is a beauty.

Those bastards.

Tearing up the paper, I threw it away. I turned pleading eyes on my small group. "We have to find her. Please! We have to, please. It's my sister. We have to find my sister, please," I begged.

A hand on my shoulder was all I needed right now and I got two of them. Taking a deep breath despite my growing nerves and anger, I knew that this had to be planned out, and smartly too.

Staring Tanya right in the eyes, I couldn't help but feel desperate. This was my chance to find my sister again. Sensing my desperation, Tanya quickly pulled me into her, giving me a hug.

"I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life. And Bella," Tanya pulled her head back to look me right in the eyes. "We will find your sister, that much is a promise. But we have to be smart about this. We have to find out where they are keeping her, and how many of them there is. No doubt that silver wolf is with them, but it will be dangerous, very. They have a weapon of some sort that we don't know."

I nodded my head in misery, an icy panic working up in my gut. "We will wait, but I am only going to wait a week, at the most. Those men... Those bastards, they have my sister, and god knows what they are doing to her."

I turned back to face Kate and Laura. "Are you two ok now?"

They looked at each other and smiled. "Yes, we are," they both said at the same time, which made me chuckle in spit of myself.

Feeling a nudge on my arm, I turned to the source. "What is it, Tanya?"

She grabbed my arm and lead me over to where a load of alcoholic bottles were piled. Someone must as gathered them to burn the corpses.

She took up a handful and passed them to me silently before taking up her own. Without speaking, we splashed the bodies with the bottles of alcohol. From the corner of my eye, I saw the others enter the house.

Tanya then suddenly turned to face me and began to speak while throwing alcohol in a corpses face.

"Bella, I want to tell you about me. I feel that it is only right. You know about my story. I was born in ancient Slovakia. I was the first of Sasha's adoptive daughters and I was Sasha's biological great-niece. When Sasha yearned for companionship, she chose me to join her. Within her first century as a vampire, Sasha added two more people to our family: Kate and Irina. We have been close as a family since then."

"Since I was the closet to Sasha, I was impacted stronger than that of my sisters when Sasha's crime of creating an immortal child was revealed. I did not understand the reason behind Sasha's actions, but once the Volturi showed up and tested mine and my sisters innocence, we were spared execution. I did however, understand why my mother had kept it secret from us."

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "After our mother's death, we have all been left traumatised, and since then, we have been purists for the vampire law. The pain of loss and emptiness became unbearable for myself and my sisters, so we tried to fill it with a long line of flirtations, which were enough to frequently distract us from the pain. We constantly felt guilty. Every man and woman we slept with ended up dead, due to our inability to resist their blood."

As I watched Tanya's face, I noticed how unemotional and detached she looked, compared to Kate when she told me her story.

"This continuous act lead us to become the name, 'succubus' which is a demon that seduces men and lures them to their deaths. Over time, me and my sisters began to feel remorse for our actions. I was the first to become sensitive. When the pain became unbearable, I gave up human men and women for a time, but the loneliness returned. I then tried to think of a way to go back to romantic pursuits without killing my human companions."

"After much thought, I decided it was the steady diet of human blood that made it difficult for me to resist the blood of specific humans that I wished to spare. Eventually, I discovered that drinking animal blood took care of my nutritional needs without weakening my ability to resist human blood. I showed this method to my sisters and in a few century's, we have perfected our vegetarianism and have also courted with male and female vampires. Though we have never found our match."

She smiled as she pulled a box of matches from her back pocket. I followed her lead and threw the empty bottles on the bodies before backing up. She struck a match.

"When I met Carmen and Eleazar, I was happy to explain my dietary choices to them. As the newcomers became closer to myself and my sisters, I naturally took place as the leader of the family. I was delighted to meet the Cullen family and saw Carlisle as my peer in many ways. I was also intrigued by Edward Cullen, but that was mostly because he showed no interest in my advances, despite the fact he had no partner. I never gave up my pursuit of Edward, which is one of the reasons the Cullen's did not settle in Alaska with us. But I dare say he will be relieved when we meet again, to see that I have a mate now."

Tanya finished the last part off with a light smile across her lips, which in turn made me smile too. She threw the match and for a moment, we watched as the flames grew, releasing a strong smell.

Without outwardly speaking, we both headed towards the house, knowing that Tanya was closely following behind me.

"Shouldn't we put the fire out?"

"Don't worry, I will see to it. You can rest inside for a bit, with Laura and Kate, both of whom I know are dying to hug you."

I couldn't help but smile at this. As we reached the front door, it was pulled open by none other than Kate herself, who grabbed my hand and dragged me into the living room with a chuckling Tanya behind me.

Kate pulled me to the couch beside Laura, who grinned at me. Tanya stopped at the centre of the room, staring at me.

She let out a loud cough before speaking. "I would like to take this time to say thank you, Bella. I know, I have already said it. I just wanted to say it again. You saved, not just my life, but my sisters and my mates too. For this, I am, we are, beyond grateful, Bella. I would love it if you would stay here with us, and become a part of this family."

Stunned, I took a moment before answering her, but she continued to talk.

"Of course, we would like Danielle, Sarah and Laura to join us, too." She smiled.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Remember us suddenly did you?"

Tanya chuckled, grabbing a throw pillow from the nearest sofa and chucking it at her. Laura caught it and hugged it to her middle, grinning.

"Enough, child," Danielle scowled. She then turned her attention to Tanya. "We would absolutely love it."

They grinned at each other before looking pointedly over at me. My eyes flicked between our ever growing group. From gold eyes, to red. Tanya, Danielle, Sarah, Kate, Irina, Laura, Carmen, Eleazar. I imagined me here, with them. On animal blood.

I imagined my mate, and her family if she had any, with us too. Even if I didn't find her, so what? I could love Laura. I could love Kate. My mind thought of another face, another set of red eyes, that would soon be gold, like all of us. A face that belonged in this family.

"I would love that. But my sister... we need to find her. Can we celebrate this later, and concentrate on a plan?"

Tanya nodded. "Yes we will. Of course we will. But first, relax for five minutes, while we deal with the bodies. When we come back, we will discuss plans to find, and save, your sister."

With that, Tanya took off through the door, leaving only myself, Kate and Laura.

AN: I don't own Twilight. Thanks to my beta: LeighJ11, you rock!


	10. It's time to move on

Staring down at my hands, I rubbed my fingers over the piece of cloth I had found over seventy years ago. Hurt and anger ran through and burnt my veins. Tears that could never fall burnt up in my eyes.

Tightening my grip on the piece of cloth, I kissed it once for good luck, like I had done every day since I had found it. But today, was the last time. It was time to let go now. As the Denali's had said, it would be the best thing for me, to let go of it, of her.

But we all agreed that we would never stop looking for my sister and that one day, I would find her, that I would get to see her again, that she would be part of our family. This was the only comfort that I had.

Just thinking about seeing her again made me smile. I moved the cloth over to the fireplace with a heavy sigh, pressing one last kiss to it.

"I promise we will see each other again, Lucia," I whispered.

I screwed my eyes shut as I threw the cloth in the fire, opening them seconds later to watch the small piece of material burn in an instant. A burning sadness enveloped me as the flames turned it to ash in mere seconds. I returned to the couch and lay back on it, sighing to myself.

I thought back to that fateful day, wondering, as I often wondered, what would of happened if we had got there earlier.

Seventy years ago.

Taking a seat at the dinner table, I settled myself in between Kate and Laura. The whole of our family were here. Kate, Laura, Tanya, Carman, Eleazar, Sarah, Danielle and Irina. They were all going to help me get my sister back.

I was lucky to have them. I turned my attention back to Tanya, who had just come back from one of her scouting trips.

She took her seat at the table and began to speak. "We can sneak in through the south, on top of the mountain and through the forest. I saw no one guarding anywhere near there, which makes this all the more suspicious when you think about it. We all know that the camp is in the east and that the north and west are being watched. But why not the south? It makes no sense to me."

Taking a deep breath, Tanya turned her attention towards me. "Are you absolutely sure of this, Bella? Because once this is decided, we can not turn back. I have a feeling that this is some sort of ambush, and that they are waiting for us somewhere... courteously of that silver wolf that we ran into, and I have a strong feeling that he may be in this camp as well."

I nodded my head, replying. "Yes I need to look for her, I understand if some of you don't want to be-"

Tanya put up her hand to stop me. "That is enough. Of course we want to help you. You're family now."

She stood up and began to address the whole room, while pacing. "I suggest we go in two days. We will all hunt to gather our strength, as I know some of us will be weaker than others. Those of us that have gifts, we can use to our advantage. We also need to craft ourselves an escape route, in case things get too ugly."

Tanya paused, eyes staring blankly before she continued her pacing. "We will have to work out when we get there. But the best bet, for now, is to go in through the south, and then on to the camp."

Tanya's speech was full of confidence, her face indifferent as she spoke to us all. I couldn't help but smile a little at how well she was handling this. I guess that was why she was the coven leader.

I turned my head and nudged Kate with my left arm. "Fancy a hunt, Kate?" I turned my eyes to Laura. "You too?"

They both nodded their heads at me. Together, we stood up and began to walk away. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm, stopping me. I turned my head to see who it was, Eleazar. He was smiling in the ruthful way in which he does.

"Bella, please come and see me once you have done. I think I might have found something, something that I think could help you with your gift of fire."

With that said, he let go of me and turned around, walking back towards Carmen. I pursed my lips. What was this thing he had found for me? I shook my head. Now wasn't the time. I'd find out soon enough.

I turned towards the front door, pulled it open and began heading off towards the forest, running. I loved it. I loved the way the wind felt on my forever cold face, the way it whipped through my hair.

I loved it, but right now there was so many things running though my head. My sister being the main one. What was happening to her? Was she ok? I just hoped that our plan worked, and that no one would get seriously hurt, because of me.

As I slowed down, Kate and Laura stopped just behind me. I sniffed the air and heard them doing the same too.

"Elk, five of them," Laura said, her voice echoed blindly throughout the forest.

I nodded my head. We all moved through the forest, at vampiric speed, towards the source of the smell and the noise of the heartbeats. Racing out of the tree's, I ran towards the closet Elk to me.

Kate and Laura were doing the same behind me. Pouncing, I latched myself on to the Elk, knowing that it was dying, due to the freight that it had endured.

Biting down on it's neck, I welcomed the pour of thick warm blood down my throat. Moaning softly, I cradled the dying animal to my body, projecting kindness and love to it in it's final minutes.

I was really beginning to get the hang of killing animals instead of humans. I learnt that the trick was love, not cruelty or hurt. Peace. It made a nice change.

Finishing and gently laying the dead Elk down, I wiped my mouth and turned my head towards Kate and Laura, who were also finishing up.

"Hey, I'm still thirsty. I'm going to go and hunt some more. You're welcome to join me if you want..." Laura offered.

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm going to go back and see what Eleazar wants."

"I'll go with you, Laura," Kate spoke up, which made me smile.

I liked the fact that they were getting along so well now. "Ok, Kate. See you back at the house then, Bella," Laura said before departing farther in to the forest with Kate.

Standing in the forest was soothing. I could hear everything around me and it was peaceful, so to speak. As much as I didn't want to leave, I knew I needed to head back home to see Eleazar.

I stopped just outside the house, so that I had a twenty second walk to the door. Wrenching it open, I ran upstairs to Eleazar's study, where he spent a lot of his time. Which was painfully ironic, as he had endless amounts of it.

With a soft knock on the door, I waited for him to call me in. But after a few seconds, it didn't happen. I knew he was in there, I could smell him, but I could also smell Carmen.

I hoped they weren't doing anything... and I most certainly hoped that I didn't interrupt them.

"Come in Bella," Carmen's voice floated through the door.

I cautiously pushed it open, stepping inside. I took a quick look around the room, noticing how everything had been moved around since I was last in here, which was only yesterday. His desk was to the left and up against the wall, his couch was to the right.

His books and letters spilled across the surface of a small table in the centre of the room. A bookcase straight ahead of me, that too was up against the wall. The room itself was rather small. Looking around, I saw no sign of Carmen or Eleazar.

"This way," Carman murmured, her voice floating through the bookcase and was quickly followed by rather loud giggles and chuckles.

Walking towards the bookcase, I put my hand on it to push it open but nothing happened. I scrunched up my face in annoyance, about to call on Carmen, when the door swung open, revealing her standing with a rather amused face.

"Well don't just stand there, come in, come in. By the way, if you ever need to come in here, you have to pull, not push," she finished with another small giggle.

"I'll keep that in mind Carmen, thanks."

Nodding her head, she smiled at me before vanishing past me and out the room. Stepping into the bookcase room, I looked around, finding only shelves packed with books, which were attached to all the walls.

Bending down at the very bottom was Eleazar. He smiled as I entered, standing and coming face to face with me within seconds. He held out his hand. I looked down at it and saw that it was a book, a very old book by the looks of it.

"Here, take it." He smiled.

Looking at him quizzically, I took the book from his hands. I looked back down at it, the cover was plain, aside from a very small symbol on it. A flame, circled with a chain going through it. I raised an eyebrow at Eleazar.

"What is it? Is this the thing you said was going to help me?"

Eleazar stared at me with a rather curious look. "Yes, yes. This is it. The book is a very old one, I was lucky to find it in my travels. I knew what it was right away, of course. I was so excited, Carmen had to take a small leave of absence for a few hours," he paused to chuckle at his own humour before continuing.

"This book holds the key to mastering your gift. The flames, it will help you control it. I won't deny it, you have some of the most extraordinary gifts I have ever seen, but also the most dangerous. This being of course, the flames that your body can generate."

"This book can make you create flame whenever you want, without the use of closing your eyes and searching for that feeling."

I shifted on my feet, staring down at the book before looking up at Eleazar and locking his gaze. "What is it that I have to do? Will you help me or will I have to do it myself? And what is up with that weird symbol on the front?"

I couldn't help it. I needed to get everything out, so I asked a few simple and rude questions.

"The book that you now hold in your hands in a spell book. Yes, you heard me correctly, Bella, a spell book. That symbol on the front stands for fire. I will not have to help you because all that you have to do is utter a spell. It will automatically connect you to your flame and you will find that your flame is more powerful than it is now."

I stared at him in surprise, trying to absorb all of this new information. I couldn't help but take an interest in it. I never knew that there was 'witch craft' or 'spells' in real life. I guess there were a lot of supernatural creatures in this world, of which I didn't know about.

I was about to ask Eleazar a question when a voice rang throughout the house. "Family meeting! NOW!"

The voice was full of authority and demand, of course I knew who it was. Our coven leader, Tanya, and it must of been important, otherwise she wouldn't have raised her voice.

Both Eleazar and I moved down the stairs together and on to the living room. I found upon our arrival, that the rest of our family was there.

Everyone was comfortably sat on the couches and small arm chairs, aside from Tanya who was standing. Kate who was sitting beside Laura, had a rather innocent and suspicious look on her face.

"What's the matter, sister? Stick lodged up your arse gain? Poke yourself in eye with your kitty claws? What?"

Tanya growled at Kate whilst I managed to hold back a laugh and took my seat in one of the arm chairs. "Not now, Kate. This is serious. I hope you have all fed, because we are leaving, tonight."

There was a small chorus of what's and why's. Tanya held up her hand. "I was out hunting with Sarah, Danielle and Irina, when we spotted half breeds not too far from our house. It seems they are regrouping and we-"

Danielle jumped in, cutting off and finishing Tanya's sentence for her. "Think they might attack us in a few days time. So we can not take any chances."

Tanya smiled and shook head before her face turned serious again. "No, we can not take any chances. Which is why we will be moving out tonight, Bella. Is that ok with you?"

I nodded my head quickly. "Yes, that's fine with me, Tanya. Eleazar, what about the spell?"

Tanya blinked, taking on the perplexed look that had began to occupy the expression of most of our group. "Spell... What spell?" Tanya questioned.

"The book that Eleazar gave me," I replied.

Eleazar stood up to explain. "Bella, please pass me the book. I'll find the page for you and you can say the spell. It will work instantly, I am sure of it."

Nodding my head, I tossed the book to him, watching as he caught it effortlessly, despite me throwing it faster than the human eye. He began to flick through the pages.

"Ok then, now, we need to make a plan here, as it's going to be swarming with enemies. I would rather do this with as minimal fighting as possible. I think it would be best if we split up and keep to the shadows. This is going to be a near impossible task, due to our smell from the diet that we all share. But we might get lucky and sneak past."

From the left, Sarah spoke up. "I think we should split up. Two groups: five and four. We will cover more ground with that tactic, and I think we should be keeping an eye out for this weapon too. But, Lucia is our main priority, of course. I just think that we should be safe. Is this making sense? Or am I rambling?"

Tanya chuckled. "Yes, you're rambling. But that makes perfect sense to me, and it's a good idea too. Because nine of us is not very sly. I'm afraid we have to leave in one hour. Make sure you are all fed and have enough energy, this is going to be a long night."

Everyone scattered out the living room including Kate and Laura, leaving me, Tanya, Carmen and Eleazar, who had stopped flicking the pages. He turned to me, his finger on a line in the page.

"This is the one. Just say it aloud. I am unsure on what exactly happens but I am confident that you will be able to control your flame more easily... Does that make sense to you?"

I took the book from his palms, nodding absently. Looking down at the page, Eleazar's hand came into to view, where he pointed at the spell.

LA CECA UNLI CRAGA FIRE.

It seemed simple enough but a nervous unease was dancing around my stomach. I started spelling it in my head a few times before speaking aloud. "LA CECA UNLI CRAGA FIRE."

I closed my eyes, expecting something to happen, good or bad. But nothing did. My eyes flickered open, at the exact moment that gasps filled the room. I let out a gasp of my own, my grip on the book tightening in surprise.

Fire was all around my body, surrounding and spinning around me like a hurricane. I looked down the length of my body and watched in amazement as the flames sank into my skin, disappearing from view.

I felt a wild rush through me, like a new surge of energy. I thought of flames and they appeared instantly, looking more powerful than before.

First they were unkept flames before they shaped themselves into round, hot fireballs, balancing preciously in my palms.

"Well, that was simply magnificent. Truly stunning. Never have I seen anything of the like," Eleazar spoke up.

I kept staring down at my hands and body, still soaked in astonishment at the flames that had surrounded me moments ago. "So, uh, that was a spell. Huh?" My voice was flat with surprise, still stunned at the fact that the spell worked.

I lifted my eyes to Eleazar, just in time to see him clasping his hands. "Yes, yes. A spell and it worked. I'll have to look for more when we come back. Perhaps there is other one's down there in the library? Maybe I can find something for your time manipulation, or may-"

"Eleazar that is enough, we are about to move out. We need your head clear for this. Carmen, talk some sense into the man, please," Tanya pleaded.

Carmen moved over to Eleazar and started whispering into his ear. I began to re-focus my attention on Tanya, who was pacing back and forth.

"Ok, is everybody ready? Good. lets go, and remember the plan. We split in to two groups, and keep as silent as we can."

I looked over to Laura and Kate, who both had their eyes on me before they came to stand beside me. "It will be ok Bella. We will find your sister, I promise," Laura whispered soothingly to me.

Kate nodded her head in agreement. Tanya lead the group through the door and out to the dark forest, although it wasn't too dark for a vampire.

Making our way through the forest, we decided to split up in to groups of two, so that we wouldn't be followed, and could cover more ground. It took twenty minutes to get to the hill of our choice.

Tanya was crouched down behind the bushes, peering down on the closely tight knitted forest that was on the other side of the hill. This would be our way in through the black and silent forest.

"What now, Tanya?" Sarah whispered.

"We make our way to the camp. It's on the other side of the forest. It will not take long, but there is a waterfall we will have to jump down, or we can climb down on to the rocks."

"We have to jump down. No one mentioned having to get wet, Tanya," Kate remarked with a huff.

I rolled my eyes at her. I couldn't help but let a small hiss escape my mouth. "Don't forget why we are here, Kate."

It was my turn to have her roll her eyes at. "Yes, I haven't forgotten, Bella. Now, are we going to move, or what?"

I nodded my head. I was ready. This was it. We were going to find her. I was going to find her, and I couldn't wait to see her again.

Moving slowly down the mountain, we took our time searching for anything that might be lurking in the forest, or indeed around us.

Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we moved through the forest at a rather dull pace. I presumed it was the clever thing to do, because we didn't want to get caught.

Suddenly a resounding 'BOOM' rang through the air. There was a massive light ahead of us, followed by smoke. Something must have exploded in the camp.

This was followed by shouting, screaming and more bangs. I quickly looked to Tanya. She must have seen the tense look on my face, because she too was wearing the same expression.

"What's going on, Tanya?" I all but screamed in panic.

We reached the vantage point, which was only a small gap between two rocks, paired with the river that Tanya had been taking about. Well, maybe river was an understatement.

It lead down to the camp and then doubled in volume and transformed into a waterfall. Standing at the edge of the waterfall, my shoes fighting for grip on the slippery wet rocks, I looked down at the camp.

Tanya stood beside me and the rest stood behind us. Fire seemed to be everywhere. There was so many vampires running and shouting, not to mention there was a lot of fighting going on too.

BOOM! Another explosion right at the start of the cave, where people were pouring out of. I watched as they transformed into werewolves and started fighting the people in hooded cloaks.

My eyes widened in surprise and confusion. My hand lifted and I pointed my finger to the people in cloaks. "Volturi?" I whispered in disbelief.

Tanya nodded her head with a hard expression across her face, her mouth twisted. "Yes, that's them. Should have figured they would show up at some point. But just not tonight."

"I would love to give them a piece of my mind. They said that if they found my sister, they would let me know. Damn scum," I muttered furiously.

Tanya nudged me gently. "I know you would Bella, I have not forgot what you told us about your meeting with them."

Staring at all the chaos, my eyes flickered desperately to see if I could see Lucia, but there was no sign of her. Without even thinking about it, I jumped off the waterfall.

I felt like I was falling through the air forever before I finally landed with a splash. I bounced back up to the surface and began swimming towards the camp which took no more than ten seconds.

I heard my family shouting after me on the cliff but now was not the time. They could either join me or stand there. But either way, I was here for my sister.

I just hoped she was ok and that I found her in time. Making my way through the camp and through the fire that surrounded me, I dodged people who were fighting all over the place.

From werewolves to half-breeds, to just normal vampires. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling that my sister was in the cave that the werewolves were coming out of. Running past the fighting, my mind was focused only on one thing.

Lucia.

I didn't even stop to fight the vampire that chucked himself at me. I carried on racing into the cave, stopping just as I had entered. I looked down the long, narrow cave.

Voices met my ears. I looked to my left, hiding myself behind a pillar, hoping that they wouldn't smell me. I stopped breathing as the werewolves walked past, their stench was horrific.

"We out numbered them. Ten to one here, Olic," one of the men said.

"I know that. But this is the Volturi we are talking about here. If they discover our secret, we're dead," another voice hissed.

"We will take care of them, I am sure of it," a deeper, more commanding voice snipped.

I waited for them to pass and was just about to move out behind the pillar when I smelt Tanya and Kate. They both came rushing in, but they smelled me too and knew exactly where I was.

"Tanya, Kate, where are the others?" Panic was obvious in my voice and they knew it, but judging by the looks on their faces, they were outside fighting with the others.

"Fighting. They're giving us enough time to get your sister," Kate whispered.

I nodded. My stomach doubled with worry. I hoped they would be ok. I owed them so much for this.

"Tanya, I need you to go to the left hand side and I will go right. Kate you've got the centre here, that's where those men came from. Please be safe. If any of us need help, shout and we will come running. Yeah?"

Taking off through the right handed tunnel, I moved as quick and as fast paced as I could whilst staying quiet. The tunnel was dark and quiet as I moved down it. I

must of been coming to the end of it now, I thought bitterly. Light, I see a light at the end. Moving as fast as I could towards the light, I came to a crashing stop once I entered the room.

Horror, shock and discomfort ran through me. There were cages, hundreds of them. All lined up in rows. A flashback ran through me. It reminded me of when I was put into a cage the last time I saw my sister.

As I looked more clearly around me, I realised there weren't just cages, but tanks too, full of people, with clear tubes going into their bodies. I felt like throwing up.

"Tanya, Kate, can you hear me?" I whispered, hoping that they could.

"What's wrong?" Two voices asked at the same time, making me jump a little.

"Where are you guys?"

"Behind you."

Spinning on my heel, I found that, sure enough, they were behind me. Puzzled, I wondered why I hadn't smelt them. I raised my eyebrow, to which Tanya answered my silent question. "You were too preoccupied with your sister to notice us."

Moving ahead, we walked past more tanks and cages. I pinched my nose closed. I couldn't help but let out a, "ugh."

I wasn't the only one who felt sick, judging by Tanya and Kate's wrinkled noses. The smell was stronger as we walked past cage after cage. We finally made it into a room, to which we found the answer to the putrid smell.

Scattered around the room, were skeletons, hundreds of them, with the last of decaying flesh dangling from them. My eyes landed on the object straight ahead of me.

"I-is that th-the weapon?" I stuttered.

Tanya moved ahead of me, blocking my view. There was another room to the right. "I think you may be right, but what the hell is it? And what is in the tank? I can't see... it's clouded up, it could be anything!"

"Smash it," Kate suggested simply.

"No, I don't think that would be a very wise idea Kate," Tanya muttered disapprovingly.

Moving to the right, I carefully manoeuvred my way to the other door. I watched to make sure I didn't step on any bones of the skeletons. The room was empty aside from some cages and torture tools.

Quickly scanning the cages, I jogged down the row before coming to the last one. I felt as if the world had gone mute, numb. My body failed me, I fell, knees clattering to the floor. Then I let out an ear piercing scream.

"No! Lucia! NO!"

Tanya and Kate both came rushing in instantly. There, lying in the cage, was a piece of her clothing. I knew it was, because it had her smell all over it, and I had only smelled that smell once, when I first awoke as a vampire.

I would never forget that smell and this piece of cloth. It belonged to her. To my sister. Kate pulled me into her body and I couldn't help but break down in sobs, or at least, try to, as I hugged her. BOOM!

The whole room shook around us, dust flying from the ceiling and the cages shaking.

"What the hell was that?!" Kate shouted.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that this place is going to come crashing down on us if we don't move soo-"

BOOM! The same happened again. I released myself from Kate's grip, bent down and took out the piece of cloth that was in the cage. I kissed it, though having no idea why. Quietly, I whispered, "I'll find you. I promise."

I felt so empty that I didn't even notice Kate pulling on me, or Tanya shouting at me. "Bella, we need you to focus, please! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Kate screamed.

She tightly grabbed my hand and dragged me to the doorway before I removed her grip. I took one last look behind me, anger soaring and beating through me, reaching ever part of my body.

They were going to pay for this. I'd kill them all. With a loud and vicious growl, I took off down the tunnel towards the battle that was commencing.

I felt Tanya and Kate closely behind me, the walls of the cave collapsing in on us made me speed up faster. As we come to the end of the tunnel, I through myself out just in time to see Tanya and Kate.

The cave collapsed in, filling the hole with bricks. Turning my body around, I watched as people continued fighting. There were flames everywhere.

Tanya put her hand on my shoulder, before disappearing off to the right, to fight with our family. Kate stood with me whilst I stared right ahead of me.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Come to find your sister have 'ya? Well you're to late, she's already gone."

Myself and Kate turned around to come face to face with the man who could transform into a huge silver wolf, the same one that had gotten away. Again, anger flared up in me.

"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you! Tell me where she is!"

The man roared with laughter. "No, I don't think I will."

I crushed my fists together. "Then you die."

The man sent me a leering grin before bursting apart, sending shreds of material through the air. Within seconds, he landed on his paws. I sent my fist forward, connecting with his jaw, sending the beast flying backwards.

It hit the ground with a thump before it came running right back at me. He jumped, throwing his claws out in attack. I ducked and moved to the side, punching his rib.

He whined, swinging his paw hard against me, sending me down to the ground. Getting back up, I watched as Kate fought with the silver wolf, trying to defend me.

I clenched my fists, shaking with anger. He had my sister, or at the very least, he knew where she was.

"Where is she?" I growled with a kick to his ribs.

He whined and I kicked him again, harder. "Tell me!"

The wolf howled and kicked Kate, sending her down to the ground. Kate held on to her stomach, panting. I didn't expect him to answer in wolf form, I didn't think he could. So I was surprised when he turned his huge, silver head and spoke.

"I won't be telling you where your sister is, but I must say, she did taste delicious. It was a shame that I had to share. Lucky really, that she was still alive afterwards."

My stomach churned, my head swimming. "WHAT DID HE DO TO HER?!" I screamed.

I threw my hands out in front of me, flames erupted from the tips of my fingers as my screams echoed around me. The wolf had no chance. Kate barely managed to get herself out of the way in time.

The werewolf burned alive in front of me and to be honest, it was probably dead within thirty seconds. But I continued to let the fire pour out of my skin, burning the body of the wolf to blackness.

"Bella! That's enough! It's dead, please, come back to us."

Kate and our family were all around me. I didn't even realise they'd enveloped me. I noticed from the corner of my eye, standing there on the right, were the Volturi. On the left, watching with grim expressions was my family.

I slowly lowered my palms, putting the fire out. A small shock ran through me as I turned my attention towards the Volturi. I vented my anger out on them.

"You! You said that you would help me find her! You said that if you found her you would tell me!" I stopped an inch away from Jane's face, growling at her.

"Which we would have done, if we had found her. I never thought that you would take matters into your own hand," Jane said calmly.

"Foolish girl! How dare she talk to us like that? We are the Volturi! We demand respect!" A man standing next to Jane raged.

I looked at him, meeting his eyes. "Don't tempt me. I know who you are."

"Aro will want to know about this, and your gift Isabella. I expect he will want to see you soon. If that is the case, then you will do that, understood?"

I nodded my head angrily. I turned back around towards Tanya and her family, the Volturi disappearing into the night.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked, my voice broke on the last line.

I couldn't believe that I didn't find her. God damn it, where was she? The only person that knew, I killed. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Laura came rushing forward to hug me. I relaxed into her body, resting my head on her shoulder.

I realised someone was missing as I looked over her shoulder. "Where's Tanya?"

"Speaking with the Volturi. She ran to catch up with them. Come on, we may as well head home."

I nodded my head in defeat. "We were so close," I whispered brokenly.

Present day; 2013.

Coming back to reality, I couldn't help but feel sad again. Lying here on the couch for what could be the last time, I knew I had to move on. I needed to for myself, so I decided that I would go and meet the Cullens.

They knew that I was coming down to visit them for some time. They understood completely that I wanted to be somewhere different, somewhere new. So it was decided. I told Tanya and the rest of the family.

Tanya was the one that had got in touch with the Cullens, and they were very open and excited to have me come live with them for awhile. Although they did things differently down in Forks, which I found extremely curious, because Tanya wouldn't stop smirking about it.

"Bella. Hey, you there, I need to have a word with you before all the emotions begin." It was Laura and she looked very sad, like she had done since I mentioned I was leaving, just like Kate.

Smiling, I patted the seat next to me. "What's up Laura?"

"I want to come with you."

Wow. I didn't think that was a good idea. I wanted to be by myself, to start a fresh. Seventy years of aimlessly wondering, following dead end leads for my sister and being numb inside.

Having no purpose to my life. It was time to change. It was a road I needed to take alone. But how to put that in a nice way without hurting her feelings? I started chewing my solid fingernails nervously.

"Look, I don't want you to come with me, you have a family."

"So do you," Laura interrupted.

"Yes, I know that. But I want to move on for myself. I want to meet Carlisle and his family. Start afresh. Look Laura, nothing will keep me away from you guys. I won't be gone forever, you know."

I put a reassuring hand on top of hers and raised it to my mouth, kissing it softly. She smiled and I'm pretty sure she would have blushed, had she been human. "Promise you will come back?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I promise. Now we have to go and see the others, before I leave. I care about you Laura, so much. But you have a family here, and you're right, I have one too. But I just want something different. I'm sure you understand, right?"

She nodded her head whilst pulling me up from the couch and dragging me towards the door.

"Hey, wait, my bag, where is it?"

"Kate has it. Wait a second, Bella. There is something that I really have to do."

I put my hand on my hips, expecting something playful, but instead, I got a mouth watering kiss.

"Hey, I want in too!" Kate shouted from outside, which made me smile in the middle of the kiss that Laura and I shared.

I pulled away, cupping her cheek and gentling rubbing it. "I am going to miss you so much."

Her face scrunched up, she looked like she wanted to cry. Oh god. Don't, please don't. It's going to make me cry. Taking her hand again, I took one last look around the living room before I set foot outside, where everyone was waiting to say their goodbyes to me.

Then it would be Forks, here I come.

AN: A massive thank you to everyone for the reviews. I love to know what everyone's thinking. Thank you to my beta: LeighJ11.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own my own ideas and characters, that are completely made up.


	11. Reasoning

Forks.

Tanya had said that it was, 'only down the road' wait until I see her. Of course I knew it was in America, but she said it would only take an hour, at most, to reach. It had been four. Running, for four hours.

I know I didn't get physically tired, but this was just ridiculous. The only stop that I'd made was to feed. It was lucky that I had a map crammed into my back pocket, otherwise I would have definitely got lost when reaching America.

Having only known the general direction the small town was in, without a map I would of been searching for Forks for days. I was going to kill Tanya.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the map Kate had given to me, smoothing out the creases left behind from being scrunched up in my skinny jeans back pocket. Fascinating, skinny jeans.

The fashion changes in life continued to amaze me. Before I left, Kate had remarked how highly amusing she thought it was that I had requested a map.

Considering how our over active minds worked, I should of, by all vampire rights, been able to give the map one quick look and then, bam, I would memorise it, and know exactly where I was heading.

I'm a pretty dis-functional vampire. I sighed wistfully at the thought of Kate, my family, back in Alaska. Laura. I couldn't help but feel guilty, paired with a horrible pang where my un-beating heart sat.

I knew our goodbye's were temporary and that it wouldn't be forever that I had left them for, but I felt terrible for how I'd just sprang it on them. They'd loved me and accepted me into their family after knowing me for five minutes.

Laura had been willing to give up on trying to track her mate, to love me, forever. Kate would of too. They risked their lives for me and my mission to find my sister. They cared for me in the after math of my failure.

They supported and accompanied me on my trip to Italy, to visit the Volturi, turning down Aro's offer of joining them. Despite the Denali's beyond acceptable reasons to not want to be anywhere near them.

Even after that, they'd put up with my foul mood for seventy years. My moping, my crying, my drinking and my lashing out. They'd loved me. But how did I repay them?

I got up one day, packed my bags and announced I was going to live with another family, leaving them all to wonder what they had done wrong. I was not just dis functional, I was down right fucked up.

As I ran, I wondered about an alternate reality. Would I have left them if we had been successful in saving my sister that day? But I already know the answer to that question, and it would of been no.

I wouldn't. My sister would of joined our family. We would of learnt and expanded our knowledge of the world together. We would of been happy.

Of course, we would have met the Cullen's at some point, that I am sure of. But it would of been under better circumstances. Maybe mine and Laura's wedding.

I sighed and take a closer look at the map, which I really didn't need to do anymore. I remembered every inch of it, but needed to feel like I had a purpose, no matter how small.

I noticed, with pleasant surprise, that I was nearly there. Cutting across jagged rocked mountains because you have skin as hard as diamond, and jumping over things because you can jump long distances, worked well as a shortcut.

Stuffing the map back into my pocket, I continued on my journey towards Forks. At the rate that I was running, I calculated that I would be there in no more than twenty minutes.

Feeling a dull vibration in my pocket, I slowed down to a walk, still much faster than a humans, and put my hand back into my pocket to fish out my mobile phone.

Mobile phones were funny little things. It still floored me that people came up with things like this, turning a random thought, fabricated from nothing, to objects. Though this one did come in handy.

I glanced quickly at the caller ID and smiled, it was Kate. Pressing the green button to answer the call, I pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello, Kate." I grinned.

"Hey, Bella. You there yet?"

Tightening my hold on my backpack, I grinned, seemingly into no where, knowing she was going to say some smart ass comment when I tell that her that I'm not. "No, not yet. Almost though!"

Kate laughed heartily and beautifully at me, over the sound of Laura's whispering, something that I couldn't quite catch, but whatever it was, it made them laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell her. But firrrst," she drawled. "I can't believe that you are not there yet! Do you have five thousand of the heaviest things in the world on your back, or are you just too lazy that you can't even walk an hour down the road, hmm? Oh yeah, and Laura said you left your panties in her bedroom. Soo, yeah, they're mine now!"

I could practically hear the sinful smirk in Kate's voice, and I could still hear her and Laura whispering in the background.

"Damn it, will you two stop whispering? And when I come back, I am going to take my panties back off you Katrina. Oh, by the way, I don't have five thousand heavy things on my back. You are well aware that the trip to Forks is most certainly is not an hour down the road, like Tanya so claims. It's just as well you gave me the map," I finished with a sigh.

There was more snickering on the other end. "Yeah, you're right. It is so not just a walk down the road," Kate laughed.

I ran a hand over my hair, tightening my pony tail. "Kate, why did you phone me?"

There was a small silence on the phone then a slight cough. "We phoned you because the Cullen's phoned us. We had to let you know that there are wolves down in Forks."

"Wait. What?" I frowned, pulling a slight face. "Why didn't they say? Actually, it don't matter. Why would that bother me?"

There was another hesitant cough on the end of the phone. "Um, because they are shape shifters, and they're quite strong... Not to mention there is a large pack of them. The Cullen's have a treaty with them. No one allowed on each other's land, so if you were to step foot there... well, let's just say you'll be torn to shreds."

Great, I thought sarcastically. "Well that's just terrific, Kate, great. So how will I know when I am on their land? Eurgh, what's that smell?"

I crinkled my nose up. There was an awful smell coming through the thick over growth of forest that surrounded me, of which I'm sure wasn't there a minute ago. It smelled like old garbage and wet dog.

Grotesque scent but made worse by the sense of de ja vu paired with it. It reminded me of the werewolves that had been around my sisters disappearance. The smell reeked of my failure.

I stopped in my tacks, realising suddenly that Kate was hysterically shouting down the phone at me.

"Kate? I'm guessing those wolves smell awful."

I was hoping to be wrong and that there some sort of landfill site nearby, but I wasn't banking on it.

"Yes, they smell like old trash and wet dog. Why?! Do you smell it? Oh no, are you on their land?!"

I bit my lip. Oh shit. "Yes, I think I am, Kate."

My ears twitched as the sound of heavy footfalls met them. They were approaching fast. Straining my ears a little harder, I listened for how many there were. One, I could deal with one.

"Kate I have to go now. Someone is coming... right now. I hear it. I will call you when I get to the Cullen's house... if I get there. Tell everyone I love them."

I quickly hung up the phone, jamming it hard back into my pocket. My eyes jumped around me, never resting on one spot for more than a fraction of a second.

Looking frantically for anyway to get out this without causing a fight and not getting the Cullen's into trouble with the treaty. My chances were slim to none.

Keeping my eyes to the left, the sound of the footfalls came to a stop. I held up my hands in surrender, not knowing what to expect. My eyes darting, before landing on a large, sandy coloured wolf that came stalking out of the bushes.

It growled warningly at me, showing it's sharp, pointy and vicious teeth, that promised to tear me apart, painfully. It growled again, continued it's advance towards me.

I tried hard to keep still, wanting to prove I wasn't dangerous. But I couldn't help edging slowly backwards.

"Hey... I'm not going to hurt you, or cause any violence, I swear... I'm looking for a man named Carlisle Cullen... do you know him?"

The wolf blinked then shut it's mouth, hiding it's teeth that moments before had screamed my death. It turned hesitantly, as if afraid to turn it's back on a vampire, before disappearing behind the bush.

Slightly confused, I lowered my hands. With surprise, I watched as a boy came walking out from behind the bush. He wore a friendly smile and couldn't have been more than fifteen.

He was adorably young, his expression seemed to be permanently cheeky. If he didn't reek of dog, and was a few years older, I may of even found him cute. Did I mention the fact that he was nude?

His skin was a light rusty, brown colour, the kind you see in native American tribes, which got me wondering if he was a descendant of one.

The boy continued to smile at me, despite me being a blood thirsty vampire, of which I'm sure, he was supposed to naturally hate, by some sort of unspoken werewolf law. He stopped a few steps away from me.

"Your eyes, they're gold, which of course means you are like them, doesn't it? You don't kill humans," the boy spoke it as a statement, rather than a question.

I found myself feeling awkward and I didn't know why. But I deciding it was best to answer honestly, especially if it saved me my life.

I nodded my head. "Yes, I don't kill humans."

The boy's smile widened before he spoke again, holding out his hand. "I'm Seth," he introduced.

I raised my eyebrow as I took his hand cautiously. Strange boy. Strange wolf. As soon as my hand and his connected, I felt an unnatural heat in his skin. I gave a distasteful smile.

"Bella," I answered, trying to smoother my smile into a polite one.

Seth grinned again. "The Cullens, they're the only vampires I like. They're good people. I mean, vampires. Well, as nice as Vampires can get. Anyway," he rambled, withdrawing his hand.

A light blush dusted his cheekbones. "How do you know of them? Are you another member of their family?"

I shook my head, opening my mouth to speak, but only managed to groan as I felt rain droplets hit my face. I quickly pulled my hood up over my head before answering him. "We are kind of like family, I guess. Cousins, in a way, if you will. But I have never met them before."

Looking away awkwardly as the boy stretched, I saw him grin out the corner of my eye. "Ah, that's cool. Sorry if me being naked makes you uncomfortable, our clothes shred when we shift, and I didn't think I would run into a vampire. I didn't stash an extra pair anywhere near here."

I raised an eyebrow at him, curiosity getting the better of me. "Why were you out here all alone? Aren't you like, fifteen or something?"

The boy gave a grim smile, though it quickly turned more goofier than the other's. "You think I'm fifteen? Well sadly, I'm not even that. I'm only fourteen. The others will be here in five minutes, so we need to be quick. They wont listen to reason, trust me." Seth's face took on a rather grim and frightened expression.

"I'm guessing that none of the others will want to talk to me. How many are on there way?"

Seth closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "Only three. There's nine of us altogether. More of us are shifting everyday. The ones who are coming are Jacob, Paul and Sam. Sam is the leader of the pack. He might, and I mean this quite literally, he might, listen to you. To give you a chance. But that's a small chance."

I delicately sniffed the air. I couldn't smell them just yet, but the smell here was just plain horrific.

"Seth, do you think you can point me in the direction of where the Cullen's live, please?"

Seth pointed out to the north, west area. So straight down, and no doubt past all the wolves. I had a feeling that some of them, if not all of them, were going to be bigger than Seth.

"Thank you Seth. I appreciate it. Do you think you could get Sam to change so that we could speak, please?"

He nodded his head and gave me a small smile. "I will try, but you might have to run here."

The sound of heavy footfalls made me groan internally. Here we go, time to face off with the big bad wolves, again. Sighing, I prepared myself for the worst as growls came from behind the bushes.

Two wolves stepped out, growling a lot more fiercely than Seth had. They seemed very vicious in my eyes. One was a silvery, grey-ish wolf, and the other was a russet coloured wolf. I kept my eyes fixed on them.

I slowly put up my hands in an surrender position, like I had earlier. I turned my head towards Seth.

"Help me out here, please? You know that I'm not here to cause any trouble. I thought you said someone might listen to me?"

Seth looked at the ground sheepishly before snapping his eyes to meet mine. The bushes rustled again and I couldn't help but snap my eyes to them as a man walked out from behind them.

At least he was wearing shorts. He also, thankfully, had a spare pair in his hands, to which he chucked at Seth, who caught them and put them on gladly. The man turned towards him.

"Go home now, Seth," he commanded.

It was clear Seth had no choice in the matter. His face twisted in anger, so much so I believed he was going to refuse. The larger man noticed this and tipped his chin in warning.

Seth looked to be non consenting as he walked away. The man then focused his attention on me, stopping in the middle of the two huge and still growling wolves.

"Why are you on our land, leech?" the man all but spat at me.

I lowered my hands, shooting him a glare. That was rude. The other two wolves disappeared behind the bush, most likely to get changed too.

"Like I was saying to Seth, I did not know that this land was yours, until the last minute, by then, I had already stepped foot on it. Seth came out and I explained myself. I'm looking for someone."

I found my voice was full of confidence as I spoke to him, though I was quaking inside. I hoped he would see reason and no one would get hurt. I hoped.

"So if you didn't know until the last minute, why didn't you turn back once you had spoken to Seth? He obviously trusted you enough to shift back into his human form. Tell me who are you looking for."

The mans voice held so much command and authority, it was like I had to give him an answer or else. This pissed me off. I wasn't one of these lap dogs. Pun intended.

"I'm looking for Carlisle Cullen. By the way, Seth didn't jump to a conclusion and actually realised that I was lost. That I did not mean to stumble on to your land." The man growled at this, his face contorting with anger.

"Haven't you killed her already Sam? She's a bloodsucker and on our land, how can you even stand there and talk with her? That stench would knock anyone out."

The other two boys came out from behind the bush. I was beginning to realise that so far, everyone had the same rusty, brown skin tone as Seth. I was pretty sure they were descendants from an native American tribe. The man, Sam, whipped his head around.

"Shut up, Paul. I am doing the talking here, not you."

The other boy, Paul shrank back a little. The final boy, I could only assume was Jacob.

"Why should I allow you to leave our land? You will only go and kill more people. My people," Sam spat.

His face did nothing to cover up the pure disgust he felt towards me. I scrunched up my face up in an effort to control my anger. I screwed my fists up into balls. This conversation was going nowhere.

"Because I do not kill humans, or cant you tell that by my gold eyes?" I asked rhetorically, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"All I want to do, is see the Cullen's. Is that such a big problem?"

Paul snorted at me. "The Cullen's are lucky to still be alive. If our ancestors had not made that treaty, they would be long dead by now."

He had a smarmy, smug look about his face, as if this were pure fact. "Paul, I am warning you, keep your mouth shut. Now is not the time. We have more pressing matters at hand, unless you have forgotten."

Paul shook his head, looking down and mumbling, "I haven't."

Jacob stepped forward. "I don't care that your eyes are gold. I will kill you right now. The Cullen's took something from me, something that meant the world to me. I swear, I will kill you."

I faked a yawn. I thought as to what it was that they took from him. It must have been something important, if he was making threats like this to someone he barely knew.

"Yeah, I don't care. Why threaten me? I did not take anything from you, did I?" I made sure to put on an arrogant face to prove my point.

I really did not care less. These people meant nothing to me. they wouldn't even be willing to reason with me. So far, the conversation was going nowhere. Jacob looked beyond furious. He began to convulse. Which I still found beyond interesting.

"Now you listen here, you filthy little bitch, I will break you. Do you understand me? I will rip you apart and burn you!" His voice held so much hate and anger in it, that I actually found it amusing,

I just thought his threats were empty. I opened my mouth to retort, as my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I didn't dare answer it, it was best to let it ring out.

"Look, this is going nowhere. I'm leaving. I mean you no harm, Sam. But try and stop me, and I promise that you will get hurt."

Paul began to convulse as much as Jacob had moments earlier. Sam began to growl. "If that is the way you want to do this, fine. I was going to listen to reason, but then, you were never going to make it to the Cullen's."

With a snarl, I swung my fist into Sam's face before I took off running. The sound of the wolves right behind me pressed me to run faster. They were right on my tail and god dammit, they were fast.

Panicked, I began to head in the direction that Seth had mentioned. Only problem was, more wolves were coming to join in on the chase, and they were so fast. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm going to die.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to outrun them. I continued to run, as there was nothing else I could do. If I died, then I would die trying.

As I ran in the direction of a cliff face, a scent hit me. It was sickly sweet, the scent of a vampire, and it was coming from straight ahead.

I knew it was just past the trees that clustered the end of the cliff. I moved as quickly as possible, not even daring to look behind me as the wolves snapped their jaws at my heels.

They growled viciously at me, so many at a time I was beginning to become disorientated. I didn't even know what direction they was coming from any more.

As I reached the trees, I caught sight of not one, not two, but eight vampires standing there. I could see their eyes, gold. God, I could cry right now. This must of been Tanya's extended family, as she put it.

This must of been Carlisle's coven. I continued running towards them, only stopping when I reached a male. He looked to be in his mid twenty's, standing beside a woman who wore a very motherly expression.

She looked at me with so much motherly concern that I was instantly reminded of Carmen. She too looked to be in her mid twenties.

The loud snarls and growls the wolves had been making came to an abrupt stop. The man next to me stepped forward only slightly, whilst the woman who looked to be in her mid twenties smiled at me.

Catching me off guard, she pulled me into a very tender hug. "You must be Bella! Are you ok? Did they hurt you in anyway?"

I shook my head. "No, they didn't. Bu-"

Something caught my eye, halting my speech. The most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my long life. A scent that was coming from her so amazing I couldn't help but breathe deep and inhale it.

Strawberries and honey. A rare mix, but mouth watering all the same. The woman just stared at me, her angry expression and tight. "Hey! Watch out!"

"Paul! NO!"

I was so preoccupied with staring at the girl, that by the time I managed to turn around, I was hurtled backwards, with a wolf attached to my arm.

AN: Thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta. Reviews are extremely welcome and appreciated. I would love to know how I'm doing. Also, myself and my beta are continuously going over previous chapters to edit small things and fix mistakes. We'll continue to do so to make this story better!


	12. The Cullens

From: **Cheridan Smith** (cheridansmith .uk) This sender is in your safe list. Sent: 11 January 2015 17:18:00 To: ryanventersxbox .uk

"Agh!" I screamed.

The wolf plunged it's teeth into my arm, the sound of stone being ripped apart sounded so far away it couldn't be real, like it was a noise underwater.

I only knew it was real, from the burning hot pain in my arm. Before I knew it, it was torn right off. It had taken the wolf all of ten seconds to take my arm off.

I let out an agonised scream, my stomach and face contorting with pain. Through the blackness threatening to steal my sight, I saw the blonde goddess kick it away, with my arm still dangling in its mouth.

The vampires surrounding me snarled venomously, fighting for me even though they didn't know me. To them, I was just part of their distance family. Even with my rapidly shutting down brain, I couldn't help but feel blessed.

The woman who had hugged me earlier on, knelt down beside me, whispering words of comfort in my ear. "You will be fine, I promise."

The pain was so over powering, sharp, tugging and relentless. It demanded to be heard, to be felt. Like drowning in a torrent of over powering waves that continue to throw you into the jagged rocks, refusing to let you drown and pushing you to burn from the inside out.

Yet as I sat there hugging this woman with one arm, I couldn't help but be transfixed. My mind was still on that mouth watering scent that hung about the air, ghosting over the stench of the wolves.

The smell was my greatest distraction and I greedily took it. I pulled away from the woman, catching sight of a young boy with bronze hair tilt his head to the side curiously at me.

I raised a sarcastic eyebrow at him, despite my on-going suffering. Out of no where, my body started to feel weak, deteriorating too fast to be normal. Within seconds, I couldn't move at all.

I tried to sit up, but couldn't. What's happening to me? I turned to the woman who was still knelt at my side. Then, I plunged into complete darkness.

"Filthy mutts. We should tear them apart for what they did!" A loud and booming voice shouted.

There was shuffling coming from down stairs, people were pacing about. "I agree what they did was most un-pleasant, not to mention they broke the treaty, again. It is becoming rather out of hand... I will have to speak to the elder's about this. Excuse me."

There was more pacing, which ceased as a person disappeared into another room. I heard someone pick up a phone and start dialling.

"Emmett, we need to be civil here. I am well aware that you are upset. But Carlisle is on the phone just now with their elders. It has been three days, her arm should be mended by now. Can you go and find your brothers and tell them to come back? We need to have a family meeting."

That voice, I recognised. It was the woman who had been talking to me when I reached her family. Holy shit, did she say three days? I had been out for that long? I didn't even know a vampire could faint, let alone pass out for three whole days.

I don't even sleep any more, how on earth did I pass out? My brain hurt trying to figure it out. Was my arm really mended? Looking down, I quickly pulled my arm from underneath the covers. I examined it closely.

It looked the exact same as it had been when it was still attached to me, before being viciously torn off by an angry werewolf foaming at the mouth at the thought of killing a vampire. I almost cried at the sight of the limb.

I never thought I'd see it again. Pushing myself, I sat up on the bed, my body still underneath the covers. I looked around the room, taking in my surroundings. I presumed I was in a guest room.

There was a small chest of drawers to the right of the bed, with a lamp on it. A medium sized wardrobe to the left of the bed, up against the wall. Straight ahead of me was a 32" inch Sony flat screen T.V.

The walls had flowers on them, the colour was a light grey, which fitted the room nicely in my opinion. Stretching and then climbing out of the bed, I landed on the soft carpet, which was a beautiful white colour with no marks or stains on it.

Moving slowly, but gracefully, I pulled the door open. I listened for signs of activity, but there were none.

Confused, I shrugged it off and began to make my way out of the room, into what appeared to be a hallway, decorated with large oil paintings and occupied by many doors. They seemed to spaced out evenly.

The sheer size of the hall was unbelievable. The hallway floor was decorated with light wooden flooring and the walls were a pretty stone white; they ironically reminded me of a vampires skin.

As I made my way along the hallway, I realised that I was embarrassingly thirsty. I hoped they would allow me to hunt. I still couldn't hear anything, not even fake breathing.

Taking a look around as I passed the many doors, I couldn't help but pick up a smell. The same one that I had held on to when I'd lost my arm. The one that belonged to the Greek goddess that I saw.

At the mere thought of the title, I cringed. I wondered what Kate and Laura would think of me. They probably wouldn't care. Knowing Kate, she would ask her to join in with us.

Whatever the 'us' was. Sniffing the air, the scent was beginning to pick up, getting stronger and headier the more I moved down the hallway, which I could see was coming to an end.

I could have gotten to the end much quicker, if I was moving at vampire speed and not at a humans. I assumed it was due to my weakened state. I hadn't fed in nearly four days.

I came to a stop outside a door, from which the scent was pushing through the wooden structure. I pushed it open hesitantly and took a step inside.

I have to admit, I was taken back for a second. The room was exquisitely beautiful. The carpet was again white, but more fluffy than the other one. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of the room.

The walls were a beautiful white that matched the previous room and there was also a TV flat screen facing the bed, attached to the wall. There were floating shelves on the walls to my right.

They were crammed with movies, CD's and books. Taking a step farther in to the room, I noticed that two sides of the room had tall and wide, pristine glass windows.

One was to the left, which I noticed had a sliding door and a balcony. The other one was straight ahead of me, on the same side as the bed. There was drawers to the left of the bed and I noticed two other doors.

One of which was to the left of the balcony, just before you would open the sliding door and the other one was to the right of me. I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent and letting out a small whimper.

"What the hell do you think you are doing in my room?" A cold voice spoke from behind me.

I came to an abrupt stop. Oh god. How was I meant to explain this? What was I going to say? The Cullen's would all think I was nuts, not to mention a flat out creep.

Turning around to answer, my voice got caught up in my throat, it just had to be the goddess. This was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Wow. Now that I could actually look at her with a clear head, I took in all of her, every small detail.

She was tall, statuesque and had a body to die for. I knew for certain she would outstrip any model. Her hair was golden, gently wavy to the middle of her back. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.

She folded her arms and growled at me with an annoyed expression. "Well?" She snapped.

I couldn't do anything more than stand there, gawking at her talking, watching her mouth move. In her attire, she wore black converse shoes, with tight jeans and a perfectly pressed polo shirt.

I couldn't help but let my eyes wander to her breasts. It was only for a fraction of a second before I locked eyes with her again.

I took a steady breath before I trusted myself to speak. "Uh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that this was your room... I got lost. Sorry," I mumbled the last part pathetically.

The woman just snorted then stepped past me. "You can leave now. Carlisle wants to talk to you, so does Esme."

I nodded my head, even though I didn't yet know who was who. I turned and left as fast as I could, fake breathing more freely now. What the hell was going on with me? Why does she smell so good?

Could she be my mate? What about Laura? No wait, she can't be my mate. I would feel a pull or something. Wouldn't I? Confused, I made my way down the stair case and into the large open space that was the down stairs.

Reaching the bottom, I glanced around me. The living room was to the right. A wall and a door to my left. The front door was straight ahead of me.

Sniffing, I could smell the different scents, most of them in the living room. So I made my way there. It seemed that every part of this house was white.

The living room was huge, decorated with more wood flooring, a large couch in the centre and a TV about 50" on the wall. It was very open here, windows were almost everywhere.

I noticed two people sitting on the couch. Making my way over to them, they both stood up and smiled at me, to which I returned. This must be Carlisle and his mate.

Before I had a chance to say anything, I was wrapped up in a tender hug. It was much like the one I'd received days ago. Did this woman like hugs or something? But it did feel nice. I smiled and returned it.

Pulling away, the woman smiled once more before going to stand beside the man, who put his arm securely around her waist.

"I hope you like the house so far, Bella. I am Carlisle, and this is my wife, Esme. I am sorry about the wolves. The matter will be taken care of, I promise. But I must admit, it is good to see you standing there, fully healed."

Carlisle had a very soft and gentle voice, much like Esme's. I could tell that I was going to get along with them just fine. Grinning at them, I pathetically waved my arm in the air, because I could. Because I still had an arm.

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you at last, Carlisle. You too, Esme. I really love this house. It's perfect. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it."

They both grinned at me widely. "It's really nothing. We are very happy to have you here. The others will be back soo- never mind, their here now."

Turning around, I watched them all enter the house and head straight for us. The first to enter was a tall, lean and thinly muscular boy with honey blonde hair. He smiled and headed straight for the couch.

I almost missed the small girl attached to his arm. I would of missed her had she not came and gave me a strong hug. She must have only been 5ft, if that.

She had short, cropped, black hair that almost comically stuck up in points all over her head. She was almost pixie like with her small features and skinny frame.

The next to enter was a boy who looked to be around sixteen. He was smaller than the other boy, less bulky and had untidy bronze coloured hair.

I recognised him as the one that tilted his head at me when I'd been drowning in my agony. The girl he was with looked average in size, maybe about the same height as me.

She had brown hair just past her shoulders that ended just at the tip of her back. Her and the boy both gave me small smiles as they passed me.

The last to walk in was a huge, muscled man, he looked like a serious weight lifter. He had dark, adorably curly hair and was holding the hand of a beautiful woman.

She was taller than me and very sporty looking, judging by her body. She had thick black hair that ended just passed her shoulders, with curls that matched his.

She too gave me a small smile. Turning around, I saw them all sitting on the couch, watching me expectantly.

Deciding that this was a good time to introduce myself, I smiled at them all. "Hey, I'm Bella," I whispered a little more shyly than I meant to.

Oh well, they all grinned at me anyway. I gave little, stupid waves.

"Hey, I'm Emmett and this is Caitlin," the big guy with the muscles said, giving a small point to the girl who he was holding on to.

I smiled kindly at them. "I am Jasper and this is Alice," the honey blonde spoke.

The girl, Alice was jumping about like mad. She seemed very excited and a bundle of endless amounts of energy.

"And I am Edward, this is Amanda."

"Nice to meet you guys." I grinned.

They all smiled and I couldn't help but give a sigh of relief. Carlisle and Esme both looked at each other before Esme growled, startling me. She was such an innocent looking women to be growling like that.

"Young lady, get down here right now, and I know that you can hear me."

I was pretty sure that I heard a groan from upstairs and knew that it had came from the blonde goddess. I stopped breathing as she came walking into the room, not wanting to embarrass myself by breathing in her scent and getting over excited.

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

The blonde looked at Esme with an expression I couldn't understand, before nodding glumly. "I'm Rosalie."

I don't know why, but the other vampires in the room snickered and Emmett gave a low wolf whistle.

"Hey, I'm Bella. Sorry about earlier, Rosalie. I didn't mean to walk into your room."

She nodded, looking a little taken aback by how eager I was to introduce myself to her, and not the rest of her family. Not to mention how eager I was to apologise to her.

"It's fine. Don't let it happen again."

"Rosalie," Esme scolded her.

"Nothing will happen, Esme. Providing she doesn't come into my room. Don't take it personally, I don't just let anyone in my room," she directed at me, before turning to Esme. "You know that."

I saw something flash across Esme's face, something that I could not quite work out. Carlisle and Esme took their seats on the couch. I noticed how there was only one space left and it was on the small chair beside the couch.

The chair that Rosalie was sitting on. Unsure if I was to take a seat or stand, I opened my mouth to ask, but rudely got told to take a seat by Rosalie.

So making my way towards her, I noticed how her face turned into a scowl. She did not look happy that I was going to sit beside her. I thought Tanya and her family got along well with the Cullen's.

The rest of the family seemed really nice. All of them but the beautiful, amazing smelling blonde. Taking my seat next to her, I made sure not to breath, which did not go unnoticed by the Cullen's.

Jasper turned to face me, curiosity on his face, as was Edwards.

"Is something wrong, Bella? You're lack of breathing and jumbled emotions are making me worry."

My what? How did he know what I was feeling? As if sensing my question, he gave me a sheepish grin. "I have the ability to sense peoples emotions."

Right, an empath. Great. I wondered if anyone else has gifts. I decided I'd leave that question until later and answer the one he wanted to know just now.

"I'm fine, just sorting myself out, I guess. You know, new place, new people. Just woke up, with a new arm kind of thing."

I did my best to keep my face straight despite my sarcasm. But he knew what I was feeling and knew that was not all it was. But thankfully, he did not press me for anything else.

Giving a small cough, Carlisle stood up. "Well, I would say we need a family meeting! First off, I would like to welcome Bella into this family for the time that she will be staying with us."

I gave him a small smile for being so kind and welcoming.

"Secondly, Bella. While you are here, you will live in the guest room. I hope that is ok with you?"

He looked at me to make sure that it was ok. I briefly, randomly wondered what would happen if I said no. "Yes, that's fine with me."

Grinning, Carlise clapped his hands together. "Very good then. Now, third point. Before we get down to business, you have been enrolled in school, for the time being that you are here. You start Monday."

Say what? School? Fucking school? I'm a seventy two year old vampire. Ninety one if you count my nineteen human years. Is he freaking kidding me, seriously? Before I could open my mouth to state this, everyone erupted into laughter, even Rosalie.

Laughing at my expense, great. "Are you being serious, Carlisle?"

Carlisle chuckled to himself. "Very much so. Now then, on to the more important matters. Jasper, Edward and Emmett. I will need you to come with me to the treaty line, so we can discuss what is going to happen to the wolves and of course the treaty, as they broke it."

There was a chorus of, "again," which had me biting my lip in repressed laughter. This seemed to be a running joke. But then angry snarls ran through the house. A running joke they no longer found funny.

"I can't promise that I will not hurt them, Carlisle. Especially after what they did! Damn mutts," Emmett cursed.

There were approving nods of heads all round, aside from Carlisle and Esme. "Now, Emmett. We will not attack, unless we have reason to."

Studying Emmett, I could tell he was the playful type, with the way he sat there and pouted in response.

"Uh, thanks for saving me to whoever put my arm back together?"

I ended it in a question, because I didn't know if they did put it back together, or if it grew again. I was out of my depth, I'd never lost a limb before.

Emmet burst into a full blown grin. "You're welcome, Bells."

Oh please god, not another silly nickname. Where do I find these people?

Edward rolled his eyes. "Don't take credit for things you haven't done, Emmett."

Carlisle then held his hand up. "You are quite welcome, Bella, I would love to talk when we get back. But right now, we have to leave if we want to make it on time to the treaty meeting."

Nodding my head, I smiled at him. "Be safe then."

He smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek, as did Esme before they disappeared through the door, followed with the boys close behind him.

I looked over to my right as Rosalie stood up and blurred right past me and up stairs. I heard her room door close shut.

That left me, Amanda, Alice and Caitlin, all of which looked extremely excited. Alice turned her attention to me, grinning from ear to ear.

"We're going shopping, Bella! I put all your things in the dressers and wardrobe for you whilst you were out, but you need more! Would you like to come with us?"

She asked as if I couldn't even consider saying no, but either way, I shook my head. Whilst it would be a good idea to bond with them, I didn't feel up to shopping just now.

"Thank you, Alice. But I'm going to pass this time. Thanks for putting my clothes away for me though."

She jumped up on to her dainty feet. "No problem! We'll bring you back something nice."

"Um, ok," I answered awkwardly.

Was she going to buy me something? Because that sure was what it sounded like, or was she going to make me give her money for something that she brought back?

Just as I was getting ready to ask her, she blurred out the room with Amanda and Caitlin at her heels.

I heard a bigger door open and the revving of an engine that must of came from the Garage, from which I heard the car take off. This left just three of us in the house.

Myself, Esme, who was busy in what I assumed was the kitchen, humming away to herself and Rosalie. She was in her room, standing up.

I was thinking about heading to my room for a little while, when my throat began to burn in reminder. Oh right, thirsty. I'm quite dense for a vampire and I don't even know how that's possible.

"Hey, Esme, is there anywhere that I can hunt?"

Esme appeared seconds later holding a bottle of red liquid, which of course I knew was blood. I took it off her, gave her a small grin of appreciation and downed the lot as fast as I could.

Licking my lips, I let out a breathily moan. That was fantastic for animal blood.

"Oh, Bella, if you ever feel thirsty, just go into the forest. Or ask someone if they want to go hunting with you."

With that said, she took the empty bottle out of my hands and went back to doing what she was doing earlier on, humming beautifully to herself.

As I was about to make my way towards my room, I saw Rosalie at the end of the staircase. She had on the trashiest dark blue overalls, covered in large oil spots and yet she still looked stunning.

Before I could feast my eyes on the sight of her, she disappeared into the garage through the door beside the stairs. Curious, I followed after her and stepped into the garage.

I was blown away the second I was over the threshold. Wow. The size was huge, with cars parked neatly to the left of the room. They could still fit ten or more cars in if they wanted to.

Taking a closer look, I challenged myself to correctly guess there make. First up, there was a Ferrari f430, then a Mercedes Guardian (s600 Guard), an Aston martin v12 Vanquish, a BMW M3 Convertible and a Mercedes s55 AMG.

The last one parked was a massive Wrangler-style jeep with a Ducati monster lying beside it. I loved cars and this place was like heaven for me.

Finding Rosalie was simple enough, she was only a few steps away from myself. She was working on another motorbike and another Ducati, only this one was a Diavel.

Oh man, was it nice. Especially with Rosalie working on it. I quietly stopped beside her, not wanting to disturb her. She still looked rather annoyed, her mouth twisted into an ugly scowl that dented her pretty features.

I decided to break the ice. "That's some collection you have there."

Rosalie arched her brow at me. "You know cars?"

I just had to roll my eyes at that. I'd been around for a long time, of course I knew cars. "Hell yeah, I do. I love cars. I spent a lot of time doing what you're doing back at the Denali's. By the way, you haven't heard from Kate at all have you?"

She must of heard my pitch of worry because she smiled, as if to make me feel better. "Yes, you don't have to worry about it. She already phoned like a thousand time's. Not to mention, she wants to come down here and kick those mutts asses. But she knows you're fine. Ring her if it'll make you feel better."

Nodding my head, I muttered a thanks. I would give Kate a call in a little while. "Do you breathe at all? I mean, I know that we don't physically have to but I know it feels uncomfortable if we don't."

I felt my body go a little stiff. Yes, it was true that it wasn't nice to stop breathing. But if I started, I might end up embarrassing myself by sniffing her to death. This very thought made me want to blush.

Looking down at Rosalie, who still had her concentration on the bike, I let out a small and deliberate breath.

"Yes, I do breath, Rosalie. Thanks for reminding me that I have too." I paused for a moment and then pushed on. "I haven't had the chance to say thanks, yet. So, thank you. For kicking the wolf off me."

Rosalie let out a small laugh that made me feel as if my blood was running hot in my veins.

"I'm going to give Kate a call."

As I turned to leave, I heard her mutter a, "whatever," from beneath the motorbike.

This bothered me a lot more than it should of. I was being nice, right? So why wasn't she? Was she always this cold? Opening the door, I shot up stairs and to my room.

I saw my cell phone lying on the bed side table and snatched it up. I quickly scrolled through my contacts until I found Kate's name.

I hit call. Kate picked up on the first ring and practically screamed down the phone, in which I had to hold it away from my ears. "Kate! Please stop screaming."

She abruptly cut off and so I put the phone back to my ear. I grinned at hearing her voice. "Bella, are you ok? God, I was so worried! We all were! Me and Laura were going to come down there and slaughter those dogs if Carlisle hadn't talked us out of it. Even Tanya had no objections."

I fiddled with my long hair as I answered her. "Hey, I feel the same way. I want to give them a piece of my mind but they already had my arm," I muttered dryly.

I continued after her laughter. "Carlisle and the guys are over there right now talking with their elders or something. The wolves broke the treaty and they have done it more than once apparently."

I sighed into the phone. "Kate, is Laura there?"

There was silence on the phone for a second before she answered me. "Nope, out hunting. It's only me and Tanya here. I need to hunt so I will hand the phone over to Tanya. But me and Laura will call you later on, yeah?"

"Yeah, thanks Kate."

"Ok, here she is. Bye, love you."

"Love you too," I whispered half heartedly.

"Isabella! How are you feeling?"

I stopped playing with my hair. I needed to ask her something. "Tanya, I'm doing well, thank you. I need to ask you something important. Are you alone and out of hearing distance?"

There was another silence on the phone before she answered. "Yes. What's up? Are you sure you're ok?"

I started to bite my nails before I threw my hand down. "Tanya, I think I might have found my mate. But I'm unsure..."

There was a stunned silence on the phone. "Oh my, really Bella? That's great! Do tell me about it though, because you said you are unsure... How exactly?"

I sighed again, a little louder this time. I started to explain the situation to her. "Well, she smells so good that I have to stop breathing around her. To stop myself from well, embarrassing myself really. She's beyond beautiful and I kind of feel weird in her presence, even though I only started speaking to her today. When I first saw her, I was blown away. Oh yeah, and she is a complete bitch."

I couldn't forget that part could I? Tanya let out a deep bellied laugh over the phone. "That would be Rosalie then."

How did she know? Was Rosalie always giving people the cold shoulder?

"Yeah... How did you know?"

"Because Rosalie is the biggest bitch that I know. Don't worry, she's a nice enough person once you get to know her. By the way, it does sound like she is your mate. You should watch out for any signs that she feels the same way. Eventually, she's going to realise that you smell good to her."

"Thank you for your help Tanya and... I'd really appreciate it if we could keep this between me and you... I don't want Laura or Kate to know right now."

"Of course, Bella."

Me and Tanya continued to talk for another twenty minutes before we hung up. I was much calmer and more clear headed about the thought of having a mate when the call was over.

I guess it had just pissed me off slightly. Why should the universe pick me a mate? Especially one that doesn't seem to want to know me. I had two women back home who would be happy to be in a threesome relationship with me for the rest of eternity.

Weird, yes. But still, I had options. I felt as if having a mate stripped those from me. Even so, I couldn't deny how infatuated with Rosalie I was, despite receiving the cold shoulder more than once.

I stood in the room, with one thought on my mind. Mate. Rosalie is my mate. How am I going to handle this More importantly, what was I going to do about it?

AN: Thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta.


	13. Shopping

Sighing to myself, I couldn't help but stressfully run my hands through my hair. How was I going to handle this? What was I going to do? How should I go about this? Should I act any differently around her?

God, there were so many questions running around in my head. Why was this so difficult? And, why of all things holy, does my mate have to be someone that I am going to live with for the next few months?

God forbid it actually be someone who likes me. Surely I was going slip up at some point, or someone would notice my dodgy behaviour. Maybe Jasper would see, as he could read my feelings, all the time.

The sound of a door opening down stairs and the voices of people talking quite angrily, struck me out of my thoughts.

Curious about what was going on down stairs, I left my room and headed for the living room. Upon entering, I noticed Carlisle sitting on the couch, along with Esme, who held his hand.

Emmett, Jasper and Edward all sat on the couch too, with grim and rather angry expressions on their faces. Carlisle looked to be the only composed one there.

Esme didn't look as angry as the boys, but she didn't look as calm as Carlisle either. My nose wrinkled on it's own accord as I entered further into the room. They all stunk of wet dog.

I made my way over to the chair that me and Rosalie had shared earlier on and sat down on it. I wondered if I had a right to ask questions about what happened at the treaty line.

It was all to do with me, right? The wolves had broke it because of me stepping onto their land.

"Hey," I hesitated for a moment. "How did it go?" My voice was gentler and more quieter than usual.

Jasper sighed before answering me. "It went as well as expected, really. They blamed us for the breaking of the treaty, as usual."

Emmett decided to butt in. "And they never even did anything to the dog that attacked you either. Damn mutts. They tried to accuse us of sending a blood thirsty vampire to wipe out their pack and tribe, ha!" His voice boomed as he spoke.

I couldn't help but feel bad about this. This was my fault. Guilt washed over me.

I looked down at my lap, avoiding any disapproving gazes. I mumbled, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. It's my fault that their blaming you. Is the treaty still going to be valid?"

It was Carlisle who spoke up although when I lifted my head I was met with five angry pairs of eyes.

"This is not your fault, Bella! The wolves, they are like this. They are sneaky and will look for any reason to break the treaty. Which to answer your question, we managed to re-establish. But do not feel bad about this. Like I said, the wolves, they are young and if I am honest, rather stupid. They do not think before acting, which is going to be their downfall someday."

Why did Carlisle look so sad about saying that? It was as if he cared about them. He didn't, did he?

"I still think we should neuter those mutts."

There was a distinctive slamming of a door and Rosalie appeared at the helm of the couch, with a look of disgust on her face. "Eurgh, I can smell you all the way from the garage. Don't scold me for being rude, you know what I'm like. I hate those mutts and their putrid smell. Carlisle, if they break the treaty again, I think it should be war. I'm getting sick and tired of them filthy beasts."

Esme stood up her, expression rather angry and cold. It didn't suit her but it still scared me. "Rosalie Lillian Hale! You do not speak that way in my house!"

She then rounded on Emmett. "And as for you young man! The same rule applies. I know how you and Rosalie are always conspiring against the wolves! How you should attack them if they break the treaty. Now that is enough."

She stared Emmett down until he shrank into the sofa before doing the same to Rosalie. "Both of you."

The room feel into a shocked and hushed silence. I was speechless. Esme turned around to face me and smiled sweetly, as if she didn't just make a room full of vampires shit themselves.

"Sorry for raising my voice dear, but sometimes you have to. Especially in a house full of childish vampires." She glared once more at Emmett and Rosalie.

Shaking my head, I let out a smile of my own. "Don't worry about it Esme, I enjoyed the show."

She let out a small laugh before disappearing out of sight, closely followed by Carlisle and still laughing. I could here her through out the house.

Rosalie still stood there, a frown across her beautiful features. I found myself staring, again, and unable to look away. My breaths were coming out in very small gasps.

Her scent out-powered the stink of the wolves and sunk into my skin. Standing up, Edward announced that he was going to go for a shower.

I was barely listening, only tuning in when he mentioned that he wanted to get to know each other better, later on.

I also didn't miss the strange look that he had on his face, and the way that he looked to me then Rosalie.

I wondered what he knew and what caused Rosalie to storm off after he stared at her with the same expression he had given me.

Once they had left the room, Emmett leaving to do something or other, it was only me and Jasper left.

He must have sensed my confusion to the whole Edward thing, because he turned to face me and offered a small smile.

"Your emotions are all over the place, Bella. Are you ok?"

Frowning, I began to look at my hands again, my gaze drifting to outside the tall, glass window. "I'm fine, Jasper. Thank you. Just upset about the whole Werewolves incident, is all."

"That isn't all, though, is it? Every time Rose enters a room, your emotions, they seem to go everywhere."

Rose? That was a cute nick name, I liked it. Oh god. What do I say? Do I tell the truth: confide in him? Or do I lie? Would he know if I did? What am I thinking? Of course he would.

"Um, I'm nervous around her, because I find her intimidating."

My voice sounded like it was forced. Of course he knew I was lying. He didn't need to be an empath to work that out. As I stared at him, I watched the funny look grow on his face. The grin he wore was all knowing about what was happening.

Stretching over, he tapped my arm. "You should talk to her."

Talk to her about what? What was that meant to mean? Like I wasn't confused enough. God damn it, Jasper. You're just adding to my growing list of things that are running through my head.

The beeping of a phone brought me back to reality. I watched Jasper take his cell out of his trousers and put the thing to his ear.

"Hello, love." His accent was more of a southern drawl than usual.

In fact, I'd never really noticed it before now, and I had heard him talk more than a few times already. I could hear the sound of Alice on the other end of the phone, shouting down it excitedly.

Jasper hung up after a few minutes, laughing. I knew why. Alice had said she would be home in a few hours and that me, her and Rosalie were going shopping tomorrow.

Seriously, is that all this girls does? Rosalie was going. The very thought made me squirm. Jasper grinned at me, outlining the scars that lay across his beautiful features.

"Well it looks like you have an excuse to go talk to Rose now." He smiled again before heading up-stairs, to what I assumed was his and Alice's room.

Smiling to myself, I practically skipped out the room and back towards the garage where Rosalie had left to. Maybe I was a little too happy over this, but who cares.

As I pushed the door open, I started to breathe heavily and I could almost feel my eyes going black with lust. I made my way towards Rosalie, who was lifting the bike up onto a stand so that she could work under it.

It was probably extremely weird that I found that attractive. I didn't know what was sexier, that she lifted the bike, or the fact that she looked stunning with her golden hair tied up into a ponytail and still had her filthy overalls on.

"Hey, Rosalie... We, uh, are going shopping tomorrow."

As she stood up, I noticed she had that scowl on her face again. Was that permanent or something?

"According to Alice that is anyway," I added hastily.

She shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. I frowned, did that mean she was coming or was she saying no? I leant forward a little as I prepared to ask her if she was ok or why she was always rude to me.

I felt myself caring beyond anything that I had done before. Even when me and Laura were in a relationship back home, with Kate having the odd fling with us. I knew she cared, that they both cared about me, and I them.

But this was something new. I had never felt this way before. I found my very life on edge. All I wanted to do was make sure she was ok and happy. But as I leant forward, my arm touched hers.

She jumped back with a hiss so cold it freighted the life out of me. I was even more shocked to find that her eyes were pitch black. There was a deep rumbling coming from her chest.

"Don't ever touch me." Her voice was tainted with a fury that I had never seen before.

Stuttering an apology, I walked backwards to the door, only stopping when my back hit a solid wall.

Spinning around to sprint out of there, I came face to face with Esme, who had a rather sad look across her face.

Rushing past me, I watched her wrap Rosalie in a tight motherly hug. "Shh," she whispered soothingly to her.

I was too stunned to speak. I saw Jasper move past me too and over to where Rosalie was standing. I couldn't help but feel guilty but I didn't know why. What had I done? Did I hurt her?

I didn't know whether to run away or run to her. Or both things at once. But I decided to run away. My eyes stung with the need to cry. I ran up the stairs to my room.

I didn't even stop to speak to Carlisle when he tried to stop me. I slammed my door open and sat down on my bed, curling up into a ball.

I felt like I was an irrational nineteen year old girl again. Maybe Carlisle made the right call sticking me into high school. There was a soft knocking at the door, followed by Carlisle entering.

He quietly shut the door behind him and moved over to me, placing his large hand on my knee.

He spoke softly. "Bella, don't feel bad. It's not your fault. Rosalie, she's confused, and has a very sad story to her as a human. Which I'm sure she will tell you in her own time."

What did he mean, I didn't do anything wrong? I was the one that caused this. I was the one that made her cry! Me. God, I had never felt so guilty in all my life.

Sighing, I brought myself to sit up straight, then made eye contact with Carlisle.

"It was my fault. I touched her and she didn't like it. I caused her to be like this. Oh god, Carlisle. I am so sorry. I didn't think that would happen. I just wanted to catch her attention because she doesn't seem that interested in speaking to me. I just wanted to know if she was ok."

Carlisle wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. "I am sure Rosalie is fine. Jasper and Esme, as you know, are down there calming her down. You should stop worrying."

I nodded my head miserably. I mumbled a response to him. "Will she ever talk to me again? Even if it means talking to me in the way she does now."

I watched as a very curious expression came across his face. He looked to be in deep thought before he answered me. "Yes, I think she will talk to you again, Bella. Please don't dwell on the matter. How about I get Jasper, and you two can go out hunting?"

Nodding, I thought that was a good idea. Maybe he could tell me what was up with Rosalie. Even feeling slightly better, I still felt as small and childish as I had as a human.

Carlisle smiled. "Very well then, why don't you go and meet him down stairs?"

Still angry with myself, I stood up and followed Carlisle out the room.

One week later...

A whole week had passed and still, Rosalie hadn't spoken to me, despite me trying so hard to form a conversation with her every time we were in the same room together. She would just storm out.

Hell, I was even debating leaving back to Alaska due to this. But I was talked out of it by Edward and Jasper.

We were also due to start school on Monday, but as it had been un-characteristically sunny all week and so we were prevented from going.

Which I was beyond delighted about. This was also when I found out about Alice's gift and the rest of the family's too.

Jasper who was an empathy, which I knew, then there was Alice, who could see the future, although they were subjective and the future could always change.

Then there was Edward and Amanda. Edward could read minds, which I was annoyed about, because while I found this particular gift intriguing, it meant he was able to read my mind and know exactly what I was thinking, all of the time.

I felt as if someone had opened my underwear draw and rifled through it. Then there was Amanda, who was a shield. She could block attacks at a certain radius and block gifts too, including Edwards.

Lastly, there was Caitlin, who's gift was the most unusual. She had the ability to wield smoke from thin air, smoke so thick and so black that it would come in handy for an escape, or an attack or even to hide you.

Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett gifts were less super-power but super-useful. Carlisle was known for his exceptional control over human blood.

Esme would love anybody and would be willing to forgive anybody for almost anything. Emmett had his unnatural strength and Rosalie had her unnatural beauty.

Even for a vampire, she was far more beautiful than any one I had ever seen. Carlisle said their gifts were qualities about them from their humans life that heightened when they had turned into a vampire.

In the space of week, I got to know my new family in-law, so to speak. I learned that Carlisle was a doctor, which was awe-inspiring. Esme, I learned loved to cook, and do her gardening.

Emmett loved to play xbox and wrestle, he was a sore looser though. Caitlin loved to read and was a gentle and quiet person. Alice loved to shop and was all about the fashion.

I learned Jasper was kind and quiet and loved to play the xbox too. Edward loved to play the piano, which he was very good at. Amanda loved to be outdoors and in meadows.

Rosalie was the only one that I never got to know. The others had opening spoke about themselves, I never had to ask.

So I was determined that if Rosalie wasn't going to talk to me, I would have to ask her directly. Today though was shopping day and I was dreading it.

As I got myself ready to go to the mall with Alice and Rosalie, I was getting more nervous by the second. But I wanted to look nice, to hopefully catch Rosalie's attention.

If she found me attractive, then maybe I could get her to talk to me. It was a bit on this sly side, but was Alice's idea, not mine.

She thought that it would be good for me and Rose to spend some time together. So I raked through my wardrobe and put on a new pair of designer skinny jeans, gifted by Alice.

Who also bought a plain, white button up top and black leather jacket to go with it. Looking at myself in the mirror, I bit my lip to repress a smile.

I thought that I looked quite good. But I was missing something... I quickly grabbed the necklace that my sister had gave me. I put it on and couldn't help but grin to myself.

Hopefully, I now looked good enough to grab her attention. Grabbing a band from the table next to the bed, I tied my hair up into a long, curly ponytail and then left the room.

Passing my bedside table, I grabbed my purse and shoved my phone in my pocket. I was nervous about this, I really was. I'm sure that Jasper could feel my tension from all the way up here.

Thankfully, he helped by sending a few waves of relaxation to help ease the pressure I was feeling. I waited patiently at the bottom of the steps with Alice.

She had a massive grin across her face. I'm pretty sure that her face couldn't get any wider. Why we were waiting at the bottom of the steps I was unsure of.

I mean, we could easily just wait in the car, which I was pretty sure we were taking. I think Rosalie's was our pick out of the bunch, which I wasn't happy about.

Her car was going smell all like her and the last thing I wanted to do was breathe in her heavenly scent. The sound of a door opening caught my attention. Looking up to the top of the stairs, I was taken away.

Now I knew why we were standing here. Alice wanted me to see Rosalie like this. I wondered if Jasper told her about my feelings. Shaking this thought out my head, I focused on Rosalie.

She was wearing a pair of red vans, dark blue jeans that hugged at her every curve and a tight black top that fitted her perfectly. She walked down the stairs, her hips swaying slightly as she did so.

I'm pretty sure everyone could smell my arousal. But I prayed not, I was mortified. Jasper must of been having a horrid time at the moment and that goes for Edward too.

The things that filled my mind right now would scar him for the rest of his life. Rosalie walked right past me without a second glance, almost as if I wasn't there.

Following her and Alice into the garage, we entered Rosalie's BMW. She was about to take off before the door next to me opened and closed, Caitlin sliding in and grinning ear to ear.

"I'm coming too."

She gave Alice a high five, who was now practically bouncing in her seat in the front like a little child. I saw Rosalie roll her eyes as we took off speeding down the dirt path that leads up to the main road.

Getting to the mall in Port Angeles was for the most part, quick and boring. Alice and Caitlin spoke regularly. In fact, they really didn't shut up about the shopping trip.

They only went last week, for goodness sake. I turned my head to look out the window, scowling. Rosalie wasn't acknowledging me at all. Three times I had tried to make conversation with her.

She had even received an elbow to the ribs by Alice which she wasn't pleased about. The whole thing was definitely shooting my confidence down.

Once Rosalie had parked the car, I unbuckled my belt. Rosalie growled at me a little, informing me to hurry up so she could lock the door. Even if I was only a few seconds behind them.

Once we got into the mall, we went to shop after shop. I needed school supplies, which I never managed to get last week. After a few hours there, we were still shopping.

Alice, Caitlin and hell, even Rosalie continued to dawdle in every shop we entered. Alice announced that her and Caitlin were going to go into a shop that Rosalie and I didn't want to go in.

Well I did, but when Rosalie said no, I kind of did too. It made Alice beam and she told us we would meet up at the main entrance a little later on.

Then Alice and Caitlin left, leaving me with Rosalie. Rosalie did not look happy, at all. Her face looked contorted with anger as she strode about the mall, heading into the next shop with me at her heels.

As we entered, I randomly grabbed some clothes and headed to the changing rooms. My hands were already filled with bags, so I thought I would only grab a pair of shorts and a nice dress.

Inside the changing room, I dropped the bags to the floor and began to strip to my underwear. I tried on the dress first. I turned to the mirror and grinned. I loved this colour: dark blue.

It was a wonderful dress too. It came past my knees. I liked the colour but I didn't know about the dress itself. I frowned, I could use some advice.

I had been using Alice and Caitlin as my positive feedback, and they liked my choices. Alice especially liked my clothing choices.

I hated to think what she would be like if I had bad taste. I stepped out of the changing room. I caught Rosalie staring into a mirror. She too had a dress on.

It was silver and absolutely beautiful on her, with the way it fit her body so perfectly. I was pretty sure I was drooling right now.

Coughing and now slightly nervous, I spoke up, my eyes watching her in the mirror. "Uh, Rosalie? Can I have your opinion please?"

Looking rather annoyed that I was talking to her again, she stepped around to face me. For a quick moment, so quick I wasn't sure if I saw it at all, a flicker of emotion ran across her face before it shifted back into her scowl.

"You look fine," she replied crisply.

Fine. Just fine. Not beautiful. My heart sank a little. This past week I had been feeling constant guilt and confusion.

Guilt because I didn't know what I going to say to Laura and Kate when I next saw them. Confusion because Rosalie is meant to be my mate.

Apparently. Not that she's even been showing signs that she likes me, what so ever. Sighing, I mumbled a thanks and went back in to get changed. There was no point in me trying on my shorts.

Semi-happy with my choice, I took them to the counter and paid for them. Rosalie went to another shop but I told her I didn't want to go.

She didn't reply to me only preceded to walk away, without a care in the world. I was getting tired of this. I walked over to a bench and sat down on it.

I stared into space, waiting patiently for her to come back. Rosalie was forty five minutes in that shop and she didn't even buy anything. This pissed me off big time.

I was about to snap at her when someone walked into me and just my luck, it was someone from the reservation. The boy started shaking instantly and couldn't seem to calm himself down.

The other boy he was with looked more calm and was doing his best to resolve the situation. Rosalie had dropped her bags to the floor and was snarling at them.

Alice and Caitlin seemed to join us out of no where and the boys backed away. Well, the calmer boy had to drag the other one away.

Rosalie's bags were still on the floor so I bent down and picked up a couple of bags. I handed them to her silently. She looked at me and I could still see the blackness in her eyes.

She had a very pissed look on her face. It was even more awkward when she moved in to sniff me, before letting out a small moan.

I stood there, stunned, perhaps too stunned to move or speak. She was sniffing me. She could smell me. My stomach rolled in excitement. Surely she couldn't ignore me now.

Rosalie stopped, took her bags out of my hand and smiled at me. It wasn't a big smile, just a small one but a smile none the less. I could of literary burst with happiness right there and then.

"Thank you, Bella."

She spoke to me. She spoke to me for the first time in a week, and she said thank you. I was so happy I couldn't stop grinning. I looked to Alice and Caitlin and grinned at them.

They both had knowing smiles across their faces and I was now positive that they knew she was my mate.

Once back to the car, we all dumped our bags in the trunk and the back seats. I was amazed at just how much we had purchased. Maybe a little too much.

I couldn't help but let my eyes fall to Rosalie on the ride back. I constantly looked at her, smiling to myself. I still couldn't get over the fact that she had smiled at me.

Just as we were reaching the house, Alice seemed to have a vision. When her eyes flickered and she came out of it, she huffed.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's going to be rainy all week, which means we have to go to school."

We all groaned at this. I even heard groaning coming from inside the house. Once out the car, I blurred up stairs and to my room. I put all my new clothes away, realising I was running out of space.

I sighed as I crammed a top into the last available space I had. There was still a bag full of things that I had no space for.

I thought about asking Alice if I could use her wardrobe, I'm sure she would let me.

Taking a seat on the bed, I took off my necklace and put it on the table. Sighing, I gave Laura and Kate a quick text, asking them how they were.

But I couldn't help thinking, how am I dealing with this? I was still unsure really of what I was going to do, and how to deal with it.

My thoughts still often resided on Lucia, particularly when I was alone like this. I didn't know what I was meant to do. Rosalie was my mate, but she belonged with the Cullens.

I belonged with the Denali's. I was also still searching for my sister; I would until I found her. How could I be with Rosalie forever? Would she expect me to stay here? Or would she leave with me?

I couldn't help but wonder if Rosalie felt anything for me. Her actions today were weird, sniffing me and speaking to me. Don't get me wrong, I was delighted about it. Just a little confused by it.

I took out my phone and put it on the table, along with my necklace. I could see that Kate and Laura had both texted me back. But I didn't want to reply to them just now.

It may have seemed rude, but I couldn't be bothered just now. A knock on the door made me sit up.

Jasper poked his head in. "Hey, family meeting."

Standing up, I made my way down towards the living room and towards Rosalie, who was sitting on the chair. She gave me a brief smile, to which I returned. I wondered what this was all about.

Carlisle was the first to speak. He had his doctors coat on, I assumed because he was going back to work at some point.

"Bella, you have been living with us for a week now. Myself, and the rest of the family was wondering, as you know something about all of us, why don't you tell us more about yourself? Consider it family bonding," he offered a gentle smile in response.

I am sure that Jasper could feel my tense state. Hell, they could probably all see it. They wanted me to tell them a bit about myself. In other words, my story. This, I wasn't looking forward to.

A/N: thanks to LeighJ11 for being my beta.


	14. My story

AN: I just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who is supporting this story so far enjoy!

Shifting in my seat nervously, I played with my hands, my fingers twining and un-twining. How was I going to do this? Should I start with what happened to me? Or do they want to ask questions?

Sensing my stalling, Jasper sent out more waves of calm to help me. I couldn't help but send him a brief and nervous smile.

"Why don't you start with where your are from, Bella? You don't sound like you are from here," Esme spoke softly.

I couldn't help but feel a little relieved. I really didn't want to start out with my story just yet. Maybe, if I talked and evaded long enough, I wouldn't have to tell it at all.

Taking a steady breath, I answered them, "I was born in a small village near Auckland, in new Zealand."

There. That wasn't so hard was it? Yet, as I stared all around the room, everyone was looking at me with mixed expressions, as if they were waiting for something else.

"Did you live with your parents? Do you have siblings?"

Closing my eyes, I nodded. "Yes, I did live with my parents, and I have a sister." My voice sounded weak and strained even to my own ears. Which must of confused everyone, I'm sure.

"Ok, so I guess you want to know my story. Fine, but it's not pretty."

Sighing, I began to tell my story.

Rosalie POV:

I scowled to myself. Scowled because for the first time in my vampire life, I was feeling things that I had never felt before. Worst of all, it was because of this Bella person. Yes, she is beautiful.

Especially with her intoxicating scent of Lavender and Toffee. But what am I thinking? She's a female, another woman. I am not gay, and never have been. My eyes flickered to the door seconds before there was a knock.

I growled. "What is it?"

Lifting my head from the bike I was currently working on, my gaze softened when I saw that it was Emmet. Of course it was Emmett. He was my best friend, and the only person I confided in the most.

"Sorry, Em," I muttered.

Of course he just waved it off with a big goofy grin across his face. "Hey, sis. Family meeting."

Frowning, I followed him out the garage and through to the living room where the rest of the family was sitting. Aside from Jasper, and Bella. But I was sure they would both be here momentarily.

Taking a seat in the chair, I let out an annoyed huff. This probably wasn't even important. We did this kind of stuff all the time. It was annoying and boring.

I had better things to do than sit here and listen to the family complain about the wolves, or the Volturi or a nomad vampire. It's not that I don't care about my family.

I just couldn't be bothered with the same thing again, and again any more. Jasper made his way into the room, along with Bella following behind him. God, no. Please, don't sit beside me. Please don't.

Watching out of the corner of my eye, Bella made her way over to me, her eyes fixated on me. She took her seat beside me and I let out another irritated sigh.

Distracting myself, I grabbed a magazine off the floor and began to read it. Lucky for me, I keep a stash right next to the chair. Hopefully, I wouldn't get too caught up in Bella's scent, or in her staring.

Which kind of made me feel awkward. It also raised the question more than once: does she like me? Despite being buried in a magazine, I still listened, as Carlisle mentioned that he and the family wanted to get to know Bella a little bit more.

Putting down the magazine onto my lap, I stared at Bella, taking in her body language. She looked sad and uncomfortable. God damn it, why do I care? Whilst I mentally battledwith myself, I almost missed where she came from.

Auckland, New Zealand. So that's why she has an accent. Damn it Rosalie, stop listening. You are not interested in her. Keep your focus on the magazine. Yet as I sit there, I couldn't help but focus on Bella.

Why was she in my mind so much? Was I going to have to speak to Carlisle about this? I hated it. I have never felt this way before. Why now? Why does she have to be a girl, of all things? Was she my mate? Maybe that was why.

Why is she always trying so hard to catch my attention? Regardless, I knew I would have to speak to Carlisle about this.

"Did you live with your parents? Do you have siblings?"

Ah, Esme. Always so curious and caring. I couldn't help but stare at Bella as she closed her eyes and said her answer, "Yes, I did live with my parents, and I have a sister." Her voice broke and strained like a humans.

"Ok, so I guess you want to know my story. Fine, but it's not pretty."

I was intrigued though slightly apprehensive. She sighed. "My family, they, they-"

It was clear that something was wrong. The look on her face made me squirm. Under the surface pain covered her entire face. She had scrunched up in a way that said, 'I will not show any emotion.'

Yet even as she tried to hide, I could still see that her eyes burned with sadness and anger. My eyes flickered over to Jasper, wondering if he was trying to help the situation.

I could see that his face was contorted with concentration. I could feel the waves of calm that hit us all. I looked back over at Bella, who took a breath.

As she closed her eyes, I paid attention to her detail. She opened her beautiful eyes again, the gold in them a little darker than usual. Bella then started to tell her story. I was drawn into it.

The more it went on, the sadder it became. I had been such a bitch to her and for all of her vampire life she'd lived through nothing but shit. By the end of her story, my eyes, I'm sure, were pitch black with anger.

In all honesty, I don't know how I managed to keep it together. I wanted nothing more than to hug her, but at the same time, go absolutely crazy. This pissed me off more. Why should I care?

Why did I find myself caring so much about her? This was so confusing. I quickly stood up, my body seeping with anger and ran upstairs to my room to cool down.

Sighing, I all but threw myself onto my bed, burying my face into my pillow. I groaned in confusion and anger. She affected me so much. Why, why, why? I chanted to myself.

There was so much sadness in her story. Yet when she told it to me, there was so much hate, so much anger. I couldn't help but sit here and mull over her story. The story that has pissed me off.

The story that has confirmed my feelings for her. God, why am I like this? 'Edward, please tell Carlisle to come see me' I thought, knowing that Edward would hear my thoughts. He knew what I was going through.

Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and looked out of my glass doors to the forest beyond. Silently, I pondered whether or not to go hunting. My throat was a bit sore, but no more than usual.

I think it had more to do with Bella and her scent. It affected me so much and made me feel dry. I could sense Carlisle behind my door, his coconut scent filling my nose.

There was a gentle knock on the door but no one walked in. Carlisle, always so patient and respectful.

"Come in," I whispered.

My voice sounded hedgy, sharp and deadly quiet. Carlisle stepped into the room with a small frown across his face. I could hear Esme down stairs, talking to Bella, comforting her.

It seemed everyone else, even Edward, had gone out. Most likely to give Bella time to calm down, probably hunting. As Carlisle shut the door, the voices stopped downstairs.

Thank god for these sound proof rooms. I couldn't bear to hear her talk just now.

"Rosalie, are you alright?"

Carlisle took a seat on the bed next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. His voice was extremely gentle and calm, but I could tell he was feeling emotional too. It seemed that all vampire stories were sad.

I huffed, shaking my head. "No, I am not alright. I don't know what's happening to me. But ever since that woman came to us, I have felt differently. I have covered it up as best as I can, but lately, I feel more... I don't know, connected I guess."

I stared down at my hands. I felt weird talking to Carlisle. I normally confined in Emmett. But this I felt was better handled, without the constant jokes Emmett would make, no matter how good his intentions were.

Carlisle gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Rosalie, I think you know why you are feeling this way. I do. You're scared, aren't you?"

I looked up into his face, finding him looking at me with a look that closely resemble to pity. Letting out a snarl, I pushed myself away from him and stood up.

I walked over to the balcony door and opened it, stepping outside was like a release for my mounting anger. A breath of fresh air was what I needed.

Carlisle stood at my side and I couldn't help but feel guilty for pushing him away from me.

I hung my head. "I'm sorry Carlisle, I didn't mean to push you away. It's just that this is so confusing, and different and, if I am being honest, I'm scared. So, so scared, of what will happen, and what is going to happen. Right now, I feel so angry and I don't know why."

I groaned, titling my head back to the sky. "I don't know how I'm not down there, ripping up trees."

And it was true, I felt so angry. Maybe angrier than I had in my entire immortal life. What happened to her, and her family made me want to break skulls.

"The reason is because you have great control, Rosalie. I am proud of you for this. But now is the time to calm down and relax. I know it's difficult for you. Maybe you should do something to take your mind of it."

I sighed. I was growing increasingly frustrated at this. "What am I meant to do, Carlisle?" I shouted in exasperation, throwing my hands in the air. "Please, do tell me."

Despite my growing frustration, Carlisle remained calm. I didn't know how he did it, I really didn't.

"Perhaps, you should go and talk to her. Get to know her better."

I rolled my eyes at him. I should have known that sweet, gentle and caring Carlisle would have said something like this. Of course he would, damn it. He's right, I should. No, I shouldn't. Ugh, fuck it. I gave him a hug, to which he smiled at warmly.

"Thanks, dad."

I never used the word often, none of us did really. But from time to time, it felt appropriate to say it. I know how happy it made him and Esme when we said stuff like, 'yes, mom' and 'thank you, dad.'

"You are quite welcome, Rosalie. Now if you will excuse me, I will need to be getting to work."

With another gentle squeeze, I let him go and gave him one last smile, which he returned. What would I ask her? She had just told us about herself, and she knew everyone's story aside from mine.

What If I asked the simple stuff? Like, what is your favourite colour? Yeah, that would work. I felt like a human again, getting excited as if this was a date. I was still quite nervous.

Carlisle left the door open, so I could hear Esme and Bella still downstairs talking. Moving quickly over to my wardrobe, I pulled the door open and walked into it.

My pride and joy, I thought with a smile. My wardrobe was a walk in one, and was already used at its full capacity. I grabbed my new overalls, which I had bought at the mall.

I pulled another pair out that I had also bought. I didn't know what had persuaded me to do it, but the second pair I had bought were for Bella. They were black with yellow in, the same as mine.

I stripped down and put them on. Making my way downstairs, I could smell her scent along with Esme's. Ok, here I go, I thought to myself. It's time to step out and stop being afraid.

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the quiet living room. Esme looked up and smiled at me, before blurring away through the back door, no doubt to her garden, or maybe to hunt.

I kept my eyes fixed on Bella's, though they were already glued to mine.

"Hey. Um, I need a hand."

I threw the overalls at her by way of explanation. "Put these on. I'll be in the garage waiting for you."

Despite being more softer with her, unlike most times of me being a bitch, I kept my face devoid of all emotion. Making my way towards the garage door, I pulled it open and began to make preparations.

I lifted up the bike and put it onto the stand. I grabbed all the necessary equipment, waiting patiently and nervously for Bella.

A few moments later, the door opened and in an instant, my eyes were glued to the person walking through it, towards me. I didn't even realise that I was smiling. When I did, I smothered it.

"Hey, uh. You said you needed a hand."

She was so cute when she was flustered. This time, I did nothing to stop the smiling. The happiness underneath me was coming out and I was not about to put it back in. She grinned a little too, showing off her perfect white teeth.

"Yes, I need your help, if you don't mind that is?" I added quickly.

She instantly shook her head. "No, no. I want to help."

I smiled at her again and motioned for her to come closer to where I was. "I want you to fix this, but on the other side. If you need help, just ask. But I thought, seeing as you know some stuff about cars, you could lend a hand."

She almost instantly jumped up to start and began grinning. She looked so happy compared to earlier, which made me smile even more.

"Yeah, I can help fix this." She motioned to the exhaust pipe.

It really needed to be fixed and it would take a while, though not as long as a human. I grinned at her.

My next words tumbled out. "Look, I am really sorry about being a bitch all the time. It was unfair to you, and I promise to be nicer to you, I swear. I am really truly sorry that you had to endure the things you have."

I could feel the animal within me want to come out but I pushed it back inside of me. It wasn't going to come out. Carlisle was right about something, I do have great control.

She looked taken a-back by this. The look on her face almost startled me, which I am sure she noticed.

She coughed and looked shyly to the floor. "Thanks, and it's ok Rosalie."

I don't know why, but I reached over to her face, lifting up her chin and making her look me in the eyes. "You can call me Rose."

My voice came out rather huskily. Our faces were so close, if I wanted to kiss her, I could. All I would have to do is lean forward slightly and press my lips to her soft ones. The look in her face said she felt the same as me.

"O-ok, R-Rose," she stuttered.

I pulled myself back, frowning and shaking my head slightly. "We should get to work," I half muttered.

I bent down to retrieve a tool. I decided now would be a good time to get to know her.

"What's your favourite colour?"

"I like yellow. What about you?"

I thought about that a lot longer than I should have. "Violet."

As we continued to work, I got to know her even more. We talked about our favourite stories, movies, hobbies. You name it. I was amazed to find that we had so much in common. By the time we finished, I was amazed at how long it took us and was pretty thirsty.

"Hey, do you want to go for a hunt?"

She blinked in surprise. "Together? " she asked pointedly.

Nodding, I grinned at her. She melted on the spot. God, she was so cute.

"Come on."

I grabbed her hand and led her to the front door. As soon as we were outside, I headed straight for the forest with her behind me.

Bella POV:

As I sat there and told my story, I watched an array of emotions cross the Cullen's face. Sadness, anger, more sadness. The person who struck me most was Rosalie.

The way her expressions kept changing, varying from sadness to anger, then back again. It was quite a sight to behold. Even as I sat there telling the story, I had to take a couple of breaks because of my own emotions.

Man, Jasper must have been having a tough time. I don't know how he done it but he silently sent out waves of calm, which mildly helped.

Once I had finished telling my story to them, they all looked pitying, but only one person continued to catch my eye. Rosalie. She stood up and left the room.

I guess she didn't care, or even like me for that matter. The room was engulfed in silence for a minute. I felt so heartbroken and it wasn't even about my family, or my sister.

How fucking selfish was I? God damn it. All I kept thinking about was Rosalie. That beautiful woman who would never give me a chance.

Almost at once, everyone stood up and started heading to the door. Carlisle went up stairs to Rosalie's room. I heard him knock before it fell silent.

"Sweetheart, are you ok?"

I nodded my head at Esme. She pulled me into a motherly hug. I was getting used to this type of affection from her.

"Yes Esme. I am. It's just sad when I tell my story. I don't like to talk about it much is all."

She started to pat my hair gently. "You should have said. We would have never made you tell us Bella. We only wanted to know a bit about yourself. Oh dear, I am so sorry for everything."

I smiled sadly. "It's ok Esme. You guys have a right to know. I learned about everyone else. Well, almost everyone. I am going to be living here for a while, so it is only right."

She pulled me into her, giving another hug. Her scent of vanilla and chocolate wrapping me up. She slowly pulled away and took my hand in hers.

"There is something else, isn't there?"

She knows doesn't she? Of course she does. She knows about Rosalie and that I like her. I hoped she didn't hate me. I couldn't imagine sweet, caring Esme hating anyone, or at least hoped not.

"I-how did you know?"

She softly shook her head then tapped her nose. "I know everything Bella. It's Rose isn't it? I see the way you look at her."

I took my hand out of hers and started playing with them. How do I explain this to her? It's going to be so awkward to do so.

"Yes it is about her. Look Esme, please don't hate me, but I think she is the one. Which makes this all the more harder. She doesn't even speak to me most of the time. I mean, she gave me a smile earlier on, but that's pretty much it. She barley speaks to me and I make so much effort."

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair, signalling my stress.

"I do not hate you Bella. Rosalie is a very loving and protective person, especially around this family. She will open up to you, I am sure. But she finds it difficult to open up to new people. She had a very difficult experience as a human, just like yourself."

"Ok, Esme. Thank you for not hating me."

I offered her a brief smile. I heard a door open upstairs followed by Carlisle appearing before Esme and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, followed by a small smile at me. Then he disappeared out the front door.

Not long after Rosalie came down, Esme taking off out the back door as she did. Which left just the two of us. I couldn't for the life of me take my eyes off of her.

She looked so plainly beautiful wearing black and yellow overalls, clearly newly bought and an extra pair in her arms.

She was staring right back at me. "Hey. Um, I need a hand."

She needed a hand with what? Who cares? She's asking me. I'm sure I felt my dead heart beat again. I was pretty sure she could see my eyes and the happiness in them.

She threw me the spare overalls in her arms, clearly newly bought too.

"Put these on. I'll be in the garage waiting for you."

Her voice was so gentle and soft, like I'd never heard before. She wasn't being mean to me, which was something. I watched her walk off into the garage.

Once she was inside, I looked down at the overalls she had threw me. I couldn't help but lean in and take a sniff at them. Her scent was already all over them. God, I was in heaven.

Once I put the overalls on, I headed to the garage and made my way over to Rosalie. Her eyes were glued to me and she was smiling at me. Oh god, she's smiling at me.

I stopped just beside her. "Hey, uh. You said you needed a hand."

God, why am I so flustered? Damn it Rosalie. I grinned at her, showing her my perfect white teeth.

"Yes, I need your help, if you don't mind that is?"

She was asking for my help. She seemed different too, much more happier. I could see it in her. Why was she happy all of a sudden? Despite her happiness, I could see pain in her eyes.

"No, no. I want to help." I couldn't help but grin as I replied to her.

She motioned for me to come closer to her, which I did gladly. "I want you to fix this, but on the other side. If you need help, just ask. But I thought, seeing as you know some stuff about cars, you could lend a hand."

I jumped up at this and gave her a massive grin, to which she returned. God, she's smiling at me again.

"Yeah, I can fix this."

I motioned to the exhaust pipe. Rosalie spoke up, startling me. "Look, I am really sorry about being a bitch all the time. It was unfair to you, and I promise to be nicer to you, I swear. I am really truly sorry that you had to endure the things you have."

I was so taken aback by what she had just said. Did Rosalie really just apologise to me?

I coughed and muttered a quick, "Thanks, and it's ok Rosalie."

I looked down at my feet, still startled by her apology. I felt her soft, pale hands on my chin as she lifted it upwards, our faces were nearly touching.

I swear I had never felt so nervous before. Was she going to kiss me?

"You can call me Rose."

God, how I wanted to kiss her. Maybe she wanted to kiss me too. I hope so.

"O-ok, R-Rose," I stuttered.

Yeah, great move, Rebekah. Now she thinks you're a freak.

"We should get back to work."

I nodded my head, pulling away from her beautiful face. I bent down and started to work on the exhaust. I don't know why, but I felt like her eyes were on me but I was too scared to look up.

"What's your favourite colour?" Her voice echoed loudly around the garage.

"Yellow. What's yours?"

My answer was easy because I loved yellow. Rosalie however, took a bit longer to answer. "Mine's violent."

There was something off about her voice. As we continued to work, we got to know each other better. We talked about our favourite stories, movies and hobbies.

I was so happy that it was Rosalie asking me this stuff and even happier that we had so much in common.

By the time we had finished, which took us longer than it would have normally done, there were no questions left to ask.

"Hey, do you want to go for a hunt?"

I couldn't help but blink at her in surprise. She wanted to go for a hunt with me, seriously?

"Together?" I asked pointedly.

She nodded her head, grinning ear to ear. I couldn't say anything else, because she grabbed my arm. "Come on."

I was sure that I had just melted on the spot when she grabbed me. She let go of my hand and left for the forest as we got through the front door. I moved after her, slightly sad about not having her hands in mine.

We did not have to go far to find some elk. There was only two. We both made our move at the same time. I noticed how Rosalie's instincts took over.

She darted from behind the cover of the tree's and took out her prey with caution. I did the same. After we had finished feeding, I turned towards Rosalie.

She was standing, watching me with a very amused look across her face. Frowning, I made my way towards her.

"What is it?" I asked, wanting to get in on the joke she wasn't sharing with me.

"You're a messy drinker Bella."

What does she mean I'm a messy drinker? I looked down at my clothes and saw no blood. I looked back at Rosalie. "What do you mean? I have no blood on me."

She grinned, stepping closer to me. Her eyes focused solemnly on my lips, which made me feel nervous.

"Not you clothes, silly. Your mouth. Here, let me."

As she stepped closer, her face was now only an inch away from my own. I noticed her eyes were pitch black.

"Rose, what's the matter?"

She looked to be in pain. But before I could question her again, she leaned forward and slammed her lips onto my own.

A/N: A big thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed this story so far. It really keeps me going to keep writing. I'm a little unsure about the Rosalie POV here but thought it was worth a try.

If ever in a future chapter it is not in Bella POV, it will say the name of who ever the POV is in. Thank you again to everyone who is reading this story and hey! If you like the chapter, let me know :) Enjoy!


	15. Mates

My eyes sprung open in shock. Was I really kissing Rosalie? Did she really kiss me? On her own free will, no less. Was my tongue really dancing with hers just now?

Should I continued or should I pull away? Stop thinking. You deserve this you deserve this little slice of happiness.

I pushed myself tighter against her body, cupping her cheeks, moving my tongue deeper into her mouth. I couldn't describe this kiss if anyone asked me to.

It was like nothing that had ever happened to me. Not even with Kate or Laura. When I had kissed them, it seemed great; satisfying. But this, this kiss was unlike anything.

The way our tongue's moved equally against each other's, the way our mouth's fitted perfectly, the softness of her lips against my own. God.

I let out small whine into her mouth, like a dog in heat. I knew my own eyes were pitch black now, from my growing lust.

But I was still in control, unlike Rosalie, who was by the look and feel of things, completely undone by her own instincts. Opening my eyes and pulling away, I grinned at Rosalie.

She stared back at me her, eyes full of lust. Before I could say anything, she shoved me against a tree, my back connecting with force, though it managed to stay rooted into the ground.

With me pinned against the tree, Rosalie growled. She leaned in, inhaling my scent deeply before pulling away, a small moan falling out of her lips.

"What am I doing?" She blinked, as if only just recognising what was happening.

"Are you ok, Bella? Did I hurt you?"

The worry became evident across her face, as her eyes slowly went from black to a dark butterscotch colour.

"Rosalie, relax. You didn't hurt me."

I reached out an touched her arm, trying to wipe the pain and guilt from her face. It was breaking me inside.

She started pulling away from me, walking back and shaking her head from side to side. I moved after her, gripping her fiercely.

"HEY. Stop. Rosalie, you did not hurt me."

She stopped and stared at me, her gold eyes piercing into mine, searching for the truth. Once she found it, she started to calm down a little. "I'm sorry, I thought I hurt you. It's just that I'm not used to this."

Yeah, you're not the only one, Rosalie. My face softened as I replied to her, "Rose I'm not used to this either. I mean, yeah, I have had experience before. But nothing like this. I have never felt the way I do about you. And what annoys me is that I don't even know you."

Her brow furrowed. "Yeah, I guess. You don't know me."

Her voice became very cold and quiet, dangerously quite. Which made me think that I said something wrong. But I didn't, did I?

"Did I say something to upset you? If I did, I'm sorry."

Rosalie just shook her head. Her face was full of emotion. "You did nothing wrong, Bella. It's just me, well being me. I find it hard to open up to people, even my own family. The only person who knew my story was Carlisle, and that was because he was the one to find me, to change me. It took me a while before I told everyone else."

She let out a small smile. "Of course they were supportive of me, and rather upset, especially Emmett. I know you find this confusing. Hell, I don't even know where this is going to go. But I want to tell you my story, when I'm ready."

She stopped and stared at me, her eyes searching mine. Her breath brushing against my lips. So, she didn't want to tell her story just yet.

Ok. I guess that would have to be fine with me. I took her hand and started gently caressing my thumb over the top of her hand.

"Hey, it's ok with me. I don't want you to rush. You can tell me when you're ready. You already know my story. We have gotten to know each other a little bit better, but I have to ask: where is this going? Are we going to do anything about it?"

I motioned to us with my free hand, which she grabbed and started doing what I was doing, rubbing it gently.

She was looking down and for a moment, I felt like tilting up her chin just like she did to me in the garage.

"I don't know, this is all so confusing to me. I'm not even gay, Bella."

She lifted her head up, her eyes snapping to me and I could see what this was doing to her.

"I just don't know what to do. Since the day I saw you, I felt different, better. Even more happier than I had in all my existence, but at the same time, sad. Sad because I am so confused. Sad because my mate is a girl. Please don't be offended by that I think. You are amazing, and beautiful. You're an amazing person who has been through so much. I want to run but I also just want to do spend my days kissing and hug you."

She let out a small growl to herself before she continued. "What am I saying? Bella, I just need some time to think about stuff."

She let go of my hand and lifted her up to my cheek before stroking it. Leaning in, she kissed it once. Then she blurred away in the direction of the house. I didn't know what to do.

She had said she needed time, but she had also said that I was her mate. I thought mates were in-separable. Maybe it was just the whole girl-girl paring that really bothered her so much.

I had to tell Laura and Kate, I needed some advice. Now that should be fun. I hated the thought of landing them with this, let alone over the phone. I didn't even know if they would be ok with it.

Well, they had to be. They were my family, first and foremost and part of my coven. I'm sure we all knew this day was coming for those of us that didn't have mates.

"HEY, Bells!"

Holy cow. I jumped back with a snarl. "Damn it, Emmett. That is not funny!"

Emmett started laughing, his booming laughter echoing in the forest around us.

"Aww, what's the matter Bells? Did I scare you?"

He put on a very bad impression of a child like voice. "Yeah, a little bit. Look Emmett, can we not do this just now. I'm not in the mood, ok." I snapped at him.

I felt bad instantly. I didn't mean to snap at him. I sighed, gazing up at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been a rough few minutes, so to speak."

Immediately, his face turned into one that surprised me. Sadness. It didn't suit Emmett at all.

"This is about Rose, isn't it?"

How did he know? Did he hear us? Did he hear what we were talking about? Instead of just standing there with my mouth open wide like a gaping fish, I decided to ask him. "How did you know?"

He scratched the back of his head guiltily. "Um, I overheard you two talking a little bit."

So he did hear. God, this was embarrassing. How much was a little bit? Did he see us kiss too?

"Bella, can I offer a word of advice to you?"

I nodded my head. I went to sit down on a fallen tree with Emmett. As soon as we sat down, he turned to look at me with a very serious expression.

"Look, about Rosalie. She had a very bad human life, and I promise she will open up to you about it, when she is ready. As for the whole mates thing, well she might take a while about that. We don't know. Rosie is unpredictable at times."

Ok, so this is good. She just needs time. Just as she had said herself.

"Rosie?" I questioned him.

His face turned into the goofy smile I always saw him wear. "Yeah, it's a nickname I made up for her. She hates it, which is why I call her it. It annoys her so much."

I don't know how long we sat on the tree for, it could have been hours, maybe even minutes. But we sat there talking, and time seemed to go fast.

We talked more about Rosalie, and the whole cold shoulder thing to begin with. Then mates. Then xbox and Emmett wanting to play me at halo, which was the only game I was familiar with.

I used to play it back home at the Denali's with Kate and Tanya. I won and lost it varied, but I was confident that I would beat him.

Emmett patted my shoulder gently. "Well I'm going to head back to the house, you coming with? Or do you want to take some more time to think about things?"

I shook my head. "I think I will come back with you."

Grinning, he nodded his head. "Race you?"

I rolled my eyes. So childish Emmett. I grinned back at him. "Sure."

I took off with Emmett, lagging behind him and laughing. I ran all the way to the house, only stopping when we got to the door.

I turned to look at him. Emmett had a sad pout on his face, which made this victory all the more sweeter.

"Smell that?" I asked as we walked into the house.

"Nope," came his gruff reply.

"Well, it smells like victory to me." I smiled savagely.

Emmett comically sniffled then brushed past me to the couch, towards Caitlin who was talking to Amanda. Where was Alice and the rest of them? I wondered. Maybe they were all out hunting.

"Nope." Came a voice from behind me.

Spinning around, I faced the sound of the voice. Edward.

"So, where are they then?"

He shot me a curious look then grinned, showing a perfectly crooked smile. "Where are they or where is she?"

Where is she? Damn it, I keep forgetting he can read minds. His smile widened ever so slightly. "Alice is talking to Rosalie. Esme is away out for a quick hunt, and Jasper is with Esme."

Why is Alice talking to Rosalie?

"You can ask them that when they return."

Why must you be so blunt Edward?

"And when is that?"

I batted my eyelids at him which made him chuckle. He made his way over to Amanda, leaving me standing there unanswered.

"Um, hello? Edward!"

"Two days, maybe."

What?! Two days? That couldn't be right.

"Two days? Where are they?"

Everyone sitting at the couch turned around to look at me all at once with smirks all over their faces. Ok I didn't like this. I didn't like this one bit.

"What?" I asked them, my voice sounding slightly higher than it should have.

"We don't know."

So why grin at me then, and act like you know? I didn't like this at all. They all looked way too happy.

"I think it's cute that you care about Rosalie and where she is," Caitlin spoke up.

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. Does everyone know really? There was small laughter all around me, aside from Emmett's booming laughter.

"In all honesty, Bella, no one knows where Alice and Rosalie have decided to go. Not even Edward, who seen them last. All that we know is that they will be back in a couple of days and I agree with Caitlin. You and Rose would be a great mates once you cross that path. Oh yeah, and not to mention the boys at school will just love you two together," Amanda said while grinning mischievously at me.

Great, so no one knows where Rosalie and Alice are. Only that they will be back in a couple of days. Is she going to run away and never come back? No, she wouldn't do that, would she?

And Amanda said we would make great mates. So that's a good sign. We were mates and they seemed ok with us being a gay pair. Ugh, we had school soon.

Rosalie POV:

As I made my way back towards the house, my emotions were running high. I still couldn't believe that I had kissed Bella and, even more shocking, that she kissed me back.

We were happy in those few moments and then I ruined it. As I entered the house, Alice was in front of me before I could even blink.

"Hey, Rose. I already know where we're going and I told Edward we wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Personally, I think it's a great idea."

Damn it.

"Where are we going, Alice?"

She started to bounce up and down on the balls of her feet like the child before she grabbed my hand and started leading me towards our garage to my BMW.

"Alice, what the hell? Where's our stuff?"

I frowned. It was exactly like Alice to be like this, really weird and mysterious.

"Our stuff is in the trunk. You know where we're heading! To Alaska, of course! To visit our cousins."

The Denali's. I was only mildly thinking about it but apparently Alice had seen me making up my mind before I did. The trip? to put it mildly, was not fun.

Alice just wouldn't shut up, no matter what I said to her. She kept on smiling and chatting away. When we finally arrived at the Denali's, she was still talking away.

The Denali's were waiting for us when we pulled up. I wondered if Alice phoned ahead. There was Tanya and her mate Danielle, who I hadn't met yet but heard about.

Then there was Kate and who I assumed was Laura, yet again I had heard about but not yet met. Then there was Irina and her mate, Sarah and lastly, Carmen and Eleazar.

It was good that Carlisle told us about the Denali's and their mates, because if he hadn't then I'd be clueless. Over the last decade or so, we had barely seen each other.

I had met up with Tanya a few times, but we had kept that a secret between us. She would come to visit us from time to time.

Grinning, Alice bounced over to them excitedly, pulling them all in for hugs. I made my way over to Tanya and her mate, both of whom were smiling warmly at me.

"Hello, Rosalie, welcome. What brings you out here? I haven't seen you in a long time."

I gave a faux growl and turned to Alice, who was smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought it would be best if you told them yourself."

Nodding my head, I turned back towards Tanya. It was like Alice to pull something like this. That little pixie could be so sneaky. "We should go inside."

Tanya looked at me, a curious expression on her face. She nodded her head, motioning for me to go inside. We made our way to the couch.

As I glanced around, I noticed how everything was so nice and neat, as usual. That was probably Carmen's doing. Once I was seated, Tanya stood. Her mate clung on to her protectively.

"I came here to clear my head and maybe get some advice."

Tanya started tapping her chin, her eyes never leaving me. "What do you need some advice with?"

I sighed. "My mate. I think I have found my mate."

Havoc erupted. All at once, everyone started their congratulations. Tanya pulled me into a hug, just like everyone else. Even the others, that I had not officially met.

The last person to hug me was Kate and she was very happy for me. Pulling away, she kept her hands on my shoulders.

"If you guys were going to come down for a visit, where is Bella? I hope she hasn't forgotten us already."

I saw the look in Kate's eyes, so desperate to see her again. My chest tightened, fire rushing through me. She shouldn't be that desperate to see my mate.

"Rosalie, who is your mate? Can we meet him? Why don't we come back with you?" Carmen spoke up.

I tried to come up with a way to explain that it wasn't a 'him' and was a she. A she, that they all knew and was part of their family.

"Well, it's not a he... It's a she."

I tried to organise my mind, planning all different scenarios. Were they all going to react to that?

"So, you're gay now? Well there's only one spare bedroom, and I think Alice has called it. So if you want, you can always share my room," Kate said.

My mouth twitched into a smile. Did she really just say that?

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Wait, where is Alice? Damn it. "Damn it Alice, you little shit."

Laughter trickled through the room. "So who's the lucky girl that has made you like this Rosalie?" Tanya questioned.

"What do you mean, Tanya?" I questioned her back.

Grinning, she took a step towards me. "Well, no offence, but this girl must have had quite an impact to make you like this because the Rosalie I remember, was a bitch."

How dare she? Me, Rosalie Hale, a bitch. Never in all my life, have I been more insulted. "Who do you think you are, calling me a bitch. If you ever-"

"Come on Rosalie, just tell us who the lucky girl is."

I rolled my eyes. These people were annoying. I forgot how much so. I loved them so to speak, but I barely got on with them.

"Well..." I halted.

"It's Bella," Alice called from up stairs, giggling.

The entire room shuttered into silence. The only sound that could be heard was Alice's giggling.

"Is it really?" Kate asked.

Her voice had become cold and distance. "Yes," I whispered.

I turned towards the stairs, where Alice had come from. She glided into the living room where we currently were.

"Rosalie loves Bella, and Bella loves her. But their both nervous about it. As they've never felt this way before. So we came here to get some help."

"I have seen a vision of them together, and they are so happy and sooooo cute," Alice said, jumping up and down with a big smile across her face.

Kate and Laura both moved over to me. "Do you really love her?" Laura whispered.

Her voice sounded sad, but in her eyes I could see the happiness. She loved Bella, that much was clear. But I think it was enough to let her go.

"I don't know. That's why I'm here, to get some help on the matter."

"We will help you. Come on, take a seat," Kate said, while shoving me back down on the couch rather roughly, might I add.

"Now, as I don't have a mate, I think it would be best if Tanya spoke to you about this. While myself and everyone else go out for a quick hunt. I'll talk to you later."

Kate and everyone else started leaving the room and went outside. I could hear them running away into the forest that lay nearby, which left just me and Tanya, who took a seat next to me. I moved my body so that I was facing her.

"What am I meant to do here? I don't even know if she is my mate, or not. Even if she is, what the hell am I meant to do about it? Tanya, I'm not even gay. I don't like women, I like men."

Tanya looked a little upset at this and shushed me. "Rosalie, first off, you are meant to do what you think is best. But I can promise that if you two are mates, then you will not be able to stay away from her, no matter what you do. And if she is your mate, then she will smell very nice to you, almost irresistible in a way. You will feel very protective over her, almost unnaturally. Your sexuality doesn't matter Rosalie. I thought you would be able to see that. We can't choose our mates, their destined for us. We wouldn't be destined with someone who wouldn't make us happy," she paused, apparently considering her next words.

"You should be grateful that we can find our mates by their mere smell. Humans can't. Bella is an amazing, strong woman, with a sad story. She deserves someone who loves her. Kate and Laura do. So I suggest you buck up."

I ground my teeth together. I knew Kate and Laura had a thing for her, but love? They couldn't love her, she was mine. Made for me. I pushed myself up from the couch, running my hand through my loose curls.

I appreciated Tanya getting straight to the point and cutting the bullshit. "But what am I meant to do Tanya? What am I meant to say to her? 'Hey, lets be mates?'"

She frowned for a moment before speaking, "I am guessing you know her story, but she doesn't know yours, does she?"

"Yes. I know hers, but she doesn't know mine."

Tanya grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Then you need to tell her, let her know your side, your story Rosalie. Let her know who you are."

I reached forward and pulled her into a hug. I mumbled, "thanks, Tanya."

She patted my back. I could hear the smile in her voice, "no problem, Rose."

Bella POV:

She still hasn't came home and it has been two days, two fucking days. I checked my watch that I bought at the mall: four hours. We start school in four hours, damn it. Where the hell are they?

I felt a wave of calm hit me and turned towards Jasper, with a vengeance. I pointed my finger at him. I snarled. "Don't you put your calm waves into me."

I glared at him. I resumed my pacing before my ears picked up the sound of a car approaching. The car came into the garage and the engine was shut off. I smiled to myself.

I would get to see her again. Alice came bundling through the door, a huge smile across her face. She blurred right over to Jasper and kissed him on the cheek.

Wait a moment, I can't smell Rosalie, where is she? A tap on my shoulder made me turn to look at Alice, who still had her hand attached to my shoulder.

"Rosalie's in the forest, near the river. There's three huge boulders, you will find her there."

I didn't need any more encouragement than that. I took off through the door and straight into the forest. I made my way through the trees and towards the river.

I stopped once I reached the boulders Alice had mentioned. Rosalie was sitting on top of the third one that was in the middle of the river.

I walking over, jumping up onto the first boulder then the second and lastly the third. I seated myself beside her. She looked so peaceful, I was scared to disturb her.

She slowly turned to look at me. "Hey," her voice sounded quiet, almost.

"Hey," I replied.

She looked stunning, as usual. "Bella, we need to talk. Which is why we are out here, and out of earshot of everyone else."

I couldn't move, I found myself glued to the spot, so I just nodded, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm going to tell you my story, Bella."

Her body suddenly changed, her spine straightening and her talon-like nails digging into her denim-clad thighs.

"I was born in Rochester, in 1915. I had two younger brothers, a housewife for a mother and my father worked at a bank. One day, my mother dressed me up and got me to take my father's forgotten lunch into work. There, I met the bank owners son. He made a comment about my violet eyes and then I started to receive them too our relationship. It was based solely on physical attraction."

She gave a sad smile. I could see so much hurt, so much pain in her eyes. I tried to imagine them violet and my chest constricted. Without thinking, I reached for her hand. She didn't move it but continued to stare at the river in front of us.

"He was always so busy at the bank. We got engaged and one week before the wedding, I visited my good friend Vera. I envied her baby boy, her life and home. One evening, when I noticed her husband kissing her, it dawned on me. I knew there was no love in my 'relationship'. While walking home, I was too stuck in my own thoughts that I didn't notice that I had stumbled across Royce and his friends."

"They were drunk. He bragged about me being so beautiful and then-" her voice hitched.

My heart felt like it was shattering in on itself. Surely not. Surely no one had hurt this woman. This beautiful, strong and stubborn woman who was destined to be mine. I squeezed her hand, offering her a smile to continue.

"The-they brutally raped me. Everyone of them. Then they left me in the street to die. That was when Carlisle fo-Bella? Are you ok?"

Raped. Raped her. They hurt her. They hurt my mate. Everyone of them. My hand tightened over Rosalie's and though I faintly heard her hand shattering, I couldn't stop. "Bella! Bella you're hurting me! Stop!"

I didn't even realise that a pair of hands wrapped around my waist, it wasn't Rosalie's. I turned my head. I furiously struggled and snarled at Emmett. He pulled me up and tugged me off the rock.

"Emmett, put me down! LET ME GO NOW! I'Ll KILL THEM! Let me go!" I screamed.

"They are dead, Bella. I killed them. Please, please calm down, please. For me? Calm down."

Rosalie put her hand on my cheek which all but forced me to look at her in the eye's.

"Em, release her, she'll be ok," Rosalie instructed, while looking at Emmett, who wouldn't loosen his hold on me.

"I don't think that is a good idea, Rose."

It was a very serious tone that sounded like a grown man, unlike Emmett. I snarled again, struggling. I could feel heat make its way through my body and it was on the very edge of coming out.

"Bella, look at me. I know now, I know that you are my mate, do you hear me? You are my mate and I need you to be strong for me. Please don't be upset."

I stopped struggling in Emmet's arms, looking at Rosalie. Her beautiful features scrunched up in worry. She said mates, we're mates.

"I'm sorry you had to through what you did. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm so sorry," I cried.

I could feel the arms around my waist loosen before vanishing completely. "We're mates," I whispered to Rosalie.

"Yes, we are. Now please calm down. I know you're angry. But please don't be. It's over now, and I will never talk about it again. Do you understand me?"

I nodded my head weakly. "Yes, I understand."

She smiled, looking calmer. How could she be so calm after telling her story to me?

"Come on, we have school in a couple of hours. Let's head back and get ready."

I groaned. "I need to hunt first, ok?"

"I'll come with you, love."

Love? I like that, it suits me. I was still annoyed and angry, but I would do what I could to keep it inside of me. Rosalie didn't want to talk about it again, so we wouldn't talk about it. I sighed, school in a couple of hours.

Great.

A/N: Maybe too cheesy? Don't worry, things will spice up again! Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Meyer does!


	16. School

School.

Why do we have to go to school? I thought to myself bitterly. My thoughts soon drifted towards my mate. What was going to happen between me and Rose?

Yeah, we admitted we were mates, which made me happy. But how were we going to do this? Was it going to be an open relationship? Frowning, I stood staring at my reflection in the mirror.

My eyes skipped over my outfit. Skinny jeans, white converse and a plain grey top. I bit down on the inside of my cheek. I was sure I was missing something. Ah. I grabbed my grey jumper from the bed and put it on.

It was a shame that half my clothes lived on my bed. I was going to have to speak to Rosalie about that and see if I could move some of it into her wardrobe.

"Rose will say you can. Now get your ass down here, we're going to be late for school," Alice shouted from down stairs.

I cringed. Geez, someone wants to get to school early. I on the other hand, really didn't. Maybe I could ditch. I walked over to the door and picked up my school bag, throwing it around my shoulder with a huff.

I walked down the hall, then down the stairs. Alice was waiting with her arms crossed, clearly not pleased at how long I was taking. This made me smile. She was kind of cute in that way that a little child is when they don't get a sweet.

"About damn time, Bella," she huffed.

She then moved in the direction of the garage. I rolled my eyes at her whilst staring at Rose. She looked beautiful, of course. She always did.

Dressed in black shoes, tight blue jeans that hugged and fitted her at every corner of her body and a plain white t-shirt, finished with a black leather jacket, she was stunning.

Her hair was hanging loosely, dropping past her shoulders and ending with a light curl. It suited her in every way. God, how I loved her. I fixed my eyes so that they were level with hers and not mentally stripping her. I smiled.

It seemed weird that only a few hours ago, she told me her story and how angry I was. But she didn't want to see me angry or upset, it made her feel like a burden, as if she was to much for me to handle.

She also didn't want to talk about it again or anything in relation to her human life. Which I had to respect. But I hated it, standing there staring at the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes and knowing she had been hurt so deeply.

If she hadn't of told me, I would of never guessed. I found now that whenever I looked at her, I pictured her with violet eyes. It made my chest pang. She must of been so beautiful as a human.

I was seriously beginning to wonder when she was her prettiest, human or vampire? Rosalie grinned at me before leaning forward and pecking me on the lips. The instant her lips touched mine, they sent a tingle down my body.

It made me want more instantly but I knew that we couldn't do that just now. We were going slow.

It looked like she felt the same way, but maybe she was in more control than me. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Rosalie grabbed my hand and led me towards the garage and through the door. Edward and Amanda were waiting for us, but where was Alice and Jasper? I thought they were coming with us?

Edward chuckled. "Alice got too impatient and decided to leave with Emmett and Caitlin."

Wow, she must really love school. Edward gave me his crooked smile. We got into Rosalie's BMW and sped off with Rose behind the wheel. She was a complete manic, doing eighty plus down the dirt path.

I wouldn't of been surprised if we got there in two minutes. With Edward and Amanda snuggling in the back seat, I took this as a small opportunity to watch Rose.

I had never seen her drive before, so it was intriguing for me. The way her facial expression said she was bored but her eyes were intently focused and brimming with excitement.

She must have felt my eyes on her, because she turned her head and smiled at me. "What's up?" She questioned.

"Nothing, just watching you drive is all. I find it cool to watch."

Cool to watch? Wow, smooth Bella. No wonder she's laughing at you, silly girl. I grinned at her softly before the car stopped. Blinking in surprise, I realised that we were already here.

What the hell, it took five minutes, if that. Why was Alice rushing me this morning? Edward and Amanda were the first out, followed by me and Rosalie. I checked my watch. We still had fifteen minutes before first period.

We were making our way towards Jasper, Emmett and Caitlin when Alice come out of a small office and handed out little sheets of paper, stopping once she reached me.

Grinning up at me, she said, "I have managed to get you into a few classes with Rosalie. You will be in a few with us too."

I grinned back at her and took the bits of paper, saying my thanks. I quickly scanned it with Rose peering over my shoulder. The feeling I got when her body was against mine killed me. Staring at the paper, I frowned. I hated school.

1st period: Spanish, with Mrs Gonzalez.

2nd period: Biology, with Mr Banner.

3rd period: History, with Mr Manson.

4th period: Music, with Mr Stevens.

5th period: Art, with Mrs Hardy.

6th period: P.E, with Coach Clap.

I couldn't help but groan. God, being turned into a vampire didn't kill me but this would. Rose pointed out the classes we would be sharing together and the ones I would be sharing with others.

Me and Rose had Spanish, History and Art together. While I had Biology and Music with Edward and P.E, with Emmett, Jasper and Caitlin. I also had Alice and Amanda in my Art class.

"So, no Mathematic, Calculus or Algebra?" I questioned.

There was a few chuckles from our small group. "About that. We have a big influence here. We can take whatever classes we want, it helps to be us."

Grinning, I nodded my head. I might just like school after all if no Mathematics was involved. Looking around, I noticed the car park was starting to fill up, students starting to walk past us and a lot of whispers following them.

"Is that the new girl?"

"Damn, she is 'hawt."

"Another Cullen? God, they breed like dogs."

The last voice was the one that piqued my interest. It had a very nasty edge about it, like the person who said it owned this place. The person in question was heading in my direction and directly for me.

Try and walk into me, I dare you, I thought to myself. I wasn't going to move but an arm on mine pulled me away.

A group of girls walked past, scowling at us and spitting harshly, "yeah that's what I thought, get out my way, freak," the girl at the front, and who seemed to be leading the group, said.

Bitch. I turned towards the rest of the Cullen's, just about to ask them what the hell that was about when the bell rung, signalling the start of class, which I wasn't looking forward to. Even without Mathematics, it was still going to be boring.

Saying goodbye to the others, me and Rosalie made our way towards first period, hand in hand and smiling. Well, I was smiling. Rosalie had a scowl on her face and it seemed to frighten anyone who looked at us.

Secretly, it turned me on big time. Once we reached our first class, I introduced myself to the teacher who smiled politely at me and told me to take a seat. The only seat left was coincidently beside Rose.

I took the window seat and stared out of it to watch the clouds. Alice had said it would be raining later today. With a sigh, I turned towards Rose, who was focused on me. I noticed that everyone was staring at us.

Although one look from Rosalie sorted that out. I noticed the bitch from earlier was in the class too. She had a sour look on her face, almost as if she was punched straight in it. I raised an eyebrow of curiosity to Rose.

She raised one back and so I nodded my head towards the girl. Rose smiled, shaking her head. Yeah, that helps Rosalie, thanks.

"That's Jessica Stanley. She had a crush on Edward, but got rejected. Amanda wanted to rip her head off. Her and her group of bimbos all think they own the place. Just ignore the staring and whispering, we get it every year," Rosalie whispered to me, too low for human ears.

"Ok."

Our hands stayed connected under the table. The rest of the class went by quietly. Me and Rose would whisper-talk. When the bell rang, Edward was waiting outside for me so that we could go into our next class: Biology.

I said goodbye to Rose, who kissed me on the cheek and let her lips linger for a moment.

"Ready to go?" Edward asked. He looked like he was fighting a smile on his face.

"Lead the way." I grinned at him.

Biology was the same as the last class. More staring and whispering. People telling me stuff that I already know, due to the fine teaching of Tanya and her coven who taught me all sorts of education when I stayed with them.

Thinking about them made me sad. I missed them and a big question was floating around in my head: would I ever see them again? Or was my life now with Rosalie, my mate? How do I choose between my mate or my coven?

Edward, reading the thoughts in my head, reassured me that I would see them again. Once Biology was over, the rest of the classes went by without much fuss. We had to split into pairs for Art, which was fun.

Alice went with Amanda and I went with Rosalie. We were told that we had to draw our partners for a project and that the project was due in for two weeks time.

This made it viciously fun because me and Rose were going to win against Alice and Amanda, who challenged us. Whoever gets the better praise from the teacher wins.

We accepted the challenge and agreed that we would both hand in our project work at the same time. When lunch came around, we headed into the cafeteria and all grabbed a tray and got some food that we wouldn't eat.

A piece of pizza, an apple and a soda was all I got. Rosalie and everyone else got pretty much the same. I had to admit, with all the staring and the whispering, I wondered how no one noticed that they didn't eat.

"They are too dazzled with our looks," Edward said, responding to the question in my head.

I turned to Rose and grinned at her. "So, what are we doing after school?" I asked.

It was strange how right that felt. We had a relationship now, and it kind of excited me but I knew we had to take this bit by bit.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I thought we could move your stuff to my room. Then we could work on the bike if that's alright with you?"

Did she really say, move my stuff to her room? I was going to move in with her, share a room with her? Wasn't that too fast for her?

"It's not too fast. Nothing is too fast for a vampire," Edward commented.

I was speechless but I couldn't fight back the grin that threatened to break loose. "That sounds perfect, Rose."

A low snarl broke us away from our moment of gooey eyes. I turned to face Edward. "What is it?"

His eyes were a very dark gold. "For your own sake and that of Rosalie's, I will not repeat some of the things some people are thinking right now. But they are damn well sick."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes at Edward, who looked suddenly nervous. "Tell me," she demanded.

Man. Rosalie could be intimidating when she wanted to be. "I can't, Rose. I'm sorry, but it is for your own safety."

She growled and I couldn't help but feel angry too. If they said something about Rosalie, I wanted to know. Feeling the pressure from both of us, he stood up and excused himself from the table. He went through the cafeteria doors and disappeared from sight.

"I am not letting this go. I'm going to go speak with him," Rosalie said while standing up.

I pondered for a moment on whether it would be a good idea to follow her, but decided against it. Rose pecked my cheek and in an instant, voices hit me from everywhere. Rose left the cafeteria swiftly.

"Dude, they're too hot. Damn!"

"Man, the things I would do to them."

"That pale brunette girl though, fuck me. Add Rosalie in the mix and holy hell, you got yourself one hell of a threesome."

"What a filthy fucking dyke."

So many voices were coming in and I was finding it difficult to restrain myself. If it wasn't for Amanda holding my hand and Jasper sending calming waves towards me, I might have gotten up and done something that could put us all in danger.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. "Alice, what's wrong?"

Jaspers voice sounded stained and worried, snapping me out of my calming trance. I moved my attention to Alice, who's eyes were glazed over: having a vision. Alice's eyes came back to normal. She stared at me, her mouth hanging wide open in stunned shock.

"Alice... what's wrong?" I questioned her.

This did not look good. "N-nothing. Just Esme and Carlisle are planning something is all." She finished her sentence with a smile but it didn't meet her eyes, which made me all the more curious.

The rest of the day went by without much interruption. P.E was eventful. Couch Clap had us playing badminton. Fucking badminton. Humans had all these myths about dark and lustful vampires riding the high of blood and sex in sinful clubs.

When really, we were in high school, playing fucking badminton. I don't even deserve the title. We had to split into teams, which was me and Edward vs. Emmett and Caitlin. We lost, but it was fun. Emmett was so smug after it, he wouldn't shut up.

Once the day was over, we returned to our cars. Edward and Amanda were going somewhere and they wouldn't tell us where, but I had a hunch this left just me and Rose in the car all alone on the ride home.

The car ride back home was for the most part silent. Rose had been quiet since she came back from lunch. She looked upset and I was guessing it had to do with Edward and what he said to her.

Once we got home, Rose parked the car. We jumped out of it and she mumbled that she was going for a quick hunt. It left me slightly bothered that she didn't ask me to come with her.

Why wouldn't she open up about what was on her mind? We were mates, right? Shrugging my shoulders, I grabbed my bag and went up stairs to my room, dumping it on the floor.

I went back down stairs to the living room where Esme and Carlisle was seated. They both looked up to me as I entered.

Esme blurred over to me, wrapping me into one of her amazing motherly hugs. "How was school dear?" She asked.

Her heart shaped face wore a loving smile. "It was ok, Esme."

This seemed to upset her a little, because she frowned deeply. "Is everything ok dear? Where is Rosalie?"

As I opened my mouth to answer, the door opened. "I'm here, Esme." Rosalie's voice floated through the room.

She came running over to me, placing a kiss on my cheek and wrapping her arms around my waist protectively. Esme positively beamed with joy as did Carlisle, who appeared before us at her shoulder.

"You two make a cute couple. I am so very happy for you both." Esme grinned at us, which made me feel shy.

"I agree, I'm very pleased for the both of you," Carlisle said, smiling warmly at us.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

I felt Rose's arm tighten around me, hugging me to her body. She buried her nose into my hair. "Thank you," Rosalie said, her voice sounding tight.

"We will leave you two be," Carlisle said softy.

Did he know something I didn't? I wondered to myself. When they left the room I turned to face Rosalie. "So you seem in a better mood."

The feel of her arms around my body tightened, now knitted around my back. She pulled me closer to her body, almost as if she was going to kiss me, which I thought she was, but didn't.

"Let's go up to your room so we can get your stuff and put it into our room."

I didn't miss the way she placed heavy emphasis on the 'our room' part. Clearing my room of everything I owned took all of five minutes. We moved everything from my room to Rose's.

All my clothes went into her amazing walk-in wardrobe, that smelled like her. Which meant that my clothes would smell of her too, I practically drooled at the thought.

I put all my jewellery with hers and my books on her shelf with her own ones. I moved over to her bed and lay down on it. I breathed in her beautiful scent, which tingled all my senses.

I let out a small moan as the bed dipped on the other side of me. I rolled around to face Rose, our eyes remained locked, our lips an inch away from each other. My breath hitched, like a humans. What was this woman doing to me?

"I thought we were going to work on the bike?" I breathed.

She frowned before answering, "I would rather lay here with you, in our bed. But if you want to, we can go down and work on the bike?"

As I stared into her golden orbs, I started to get lost in them, swimming in their depths. They were so beautiful. "I would rather stay here too," I half mumbled, too distracted by her eyes.

She grinned at me before leaning forwards so our lips connected. I leaned into her touch and gently moved my hand onto her thigh. I made my way up to her breasts, my fingers tickling her skin.

I very gently caressed them but knew this might be too fast for Rose. I reluctantly pulled away, though doing so only seemed to piss Rose off. Her eyes were pitch black as she was lost in submissive lust.

She roughly shoved me down into the bed. I heard the mattress creek and the bed itself make a sound, almost as if it was going to give way. Rose stared down at me, her hands going for the hem of my t-shirt and tugging.

My hand stoked through her curls, halting her un-dressing of me. Her eyes fluttered shut as my thumb traced her bottom lip and my fingers splayed across her cheek. "Are you sure, Rose?"

She opened her eyes, giving a crooked smile that greatly resembled Edwards, making them look more like biological brother and sister than they ever had previous.

"Yes."

Two weeks later:

"Hurry up! We're going to lose if you don't move your sweet ass Bella!" Rosalie shouted up to me.

I grabbed my bag, ran down the stairs and straight into the garage. Rose was growling while staring at her car, the tyres had been knifed. "What the hell?"

There was laughter coming from outside. Alice and Amanda, damn it.

"Bella, on here, quick! I'm not going to lose to them! And when I get my hands on that little shit Alice, so help me god."

I moved over to the Ducati bike we had been working on all this week after school. Jumping on the back seat, I grabbed hold of Rosalie's luscious hips. Thank you Alice.

She put her foot on the pedal and we were out of the garage faster than I would think possible. Alice and Amanda were in Emmett's jeep. We caught up to them easily enough.

They were just coming out of the dirt path which connected us to the highway into town. Looking into the jeep, I saw Emmett's face laughing.

While Alice and Amanda were making threats that if he didn't get there first, they would break his games console. Caitlin and Edward looked bored as they sat there, staring out of the window.

As we continued our way towards the school, we started slowing down from 100mph to 20 mph. As we entered town, there was a red light and a pretty long traffic jam. Rose obviously knew a short cut as she turned left and down an alley.

In doing so, she didn't forget to flip off Emmett and the rest of them. I was pretty sure I heard Alice and Amanda swearing, which caused me to chuckle.

I held on to Rose a little tighter as we sped in to the school parking lot. She parked the bike and cut the engine off. I grabbed my bag and we made our way to our Art class.

We both knew that we were ten minutes early, but we wanted to show our Art teacher our picture and win the bet with Alice and Amanda, that being the reason for the race this morning.

We walked as fast as we could towards Art without looking suspicious. As we entered the classroom door, I knocked and having heard a 'come in' from our teacher, entered the room. Walking over to our teacher, she looked pleasantly surprised.

"Girls, may I help you with something? I don't have you until later on this afternoon," she stated the obvious.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. I looked to Rose and grinned. "Oh, we know. But we just couldn't wait. We wanted to show our picture to you now." I said with a purposely dazzling smile.

She looked a little flustered for a moment before smiling back. I reached into my bag and grabbed mine and Rosalie's picture's that we drew. I handed them over to her and just in the nick of time too, as the sound of a high pitched bubbly voice was on school grounds.

"Hurry, Amanda. Come on!

Bursting into the room came Alice, quickly followed by Amanda. She ran to the teachers desk, who looked taken back by the sudden appearance of her students.

"Here's ours."

She handed over hers and Amanda's too then looked at me and Rose. Both of us had smug smiles across our faces. I held up my hand to high five Rosalie. "Go team, Bella," I said while at the same time Rosalie said, "go team, Rosalie."

We both looked at each other, small smiles forming our lips. A gasp brought us back to our teacher, who looked stunned. "My god. Girls, these, these are beautiful. In fact, beyond beautiful! I-I have to show the principle these, please excuse me."

She rushed past us and exited the room, leaving the four of us standing there without knowing who won the bet. The bell rang over our heads, signalling our first class of the day.

The day went by without much fuss, we got called into our principles office and she talked to us about our pictures.

She had gone on and on about how good they were and that we should be thinking of taking a career around Art. When lunch came around, I didn't know how I'd coped another day.

"Damn it," I muttered, as my phoned buzzed again.

It had been going crazy all day. "What is it, love?" Rosalie asked while playing with her food.

"It's Tanya, will you excuse me for a moment?" I muttered.

They all nodded their heads while I headed outside to answer my ever ringing phone.

Buzz, buzz.

"Hello, Tanya. What's going on?"

The other end was silent for a moment before she spoke up. Her tone was very worrying. "Bella, meet us at the Cullen's house, right now. We are a couple of minutes away, please, this is urgent. I'll see you soon."

She hung up her end of the phone without waiting for my response. Weird, I thought. I was going to head back inside when the Rosalie came outside side. "Rose, we have to go to home right now."

"I know, come on."

How did she know? Did she over-hear me? As if reading my thoughts, she answered me while getting on her bike. "Alice had a vision."

A vision. A vision of what? I didn't like her tone of voice one bit. It sounded depressed and sad, there was also a bit of confusion in there too. It took us ten minutes to get back.

The traffic was pretty bad for a small town today. Upon entering the Cullen's land, I could smell their scents instantly. But there was a scent that I could not quite put my finger on.

It was familiar and yet it wasn't. Rose cut the engine. Once we were in the garage, I knew something had to be wrong for Tanya to have phoned me during school hours so I didn't wait for Rose.

I was off the bike, through the garage door and into the living room in a instant. The whole family was there. I grinned at them. I was so happy to see them all again, yet their smiles did not reach their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hello, Isabella," came a voice from behind me.

I spun around and felt my body go into shock. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be. After all this time, it just couldn't be.

"L-Lucia," I breathed.

A/N: This story may be set in the Twilight Universe and may resemble some things closely accosiated to the Twilight Universe, but it does not follow the plot of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. This is the second time that The Cullens have returned to Forks.


	17. Reunion

Her amber eyes bore into mine. By the shade of her eyes, she wasn't far into our restricted animal blood diet. I stared at her, dumb-found, the same question rolling around in my mind. Is it really her? Is she really here?

"Lucia?"

I took a step towards her in awe. She had changed so much. She looked so much older and so beautiful. I'd always been envious of my sister, with her satin black hair falling down her back in gentle waves. Her body had filled out beautifully.

She looked back at me before taking a step towards me too, her eyes full of emotion. It looked like she wanted to cry. I felt the same.

"Bella, I am so sorry!"

Confused, I raised my eyebrow at her. What was she sorry for? She was here now, wasn't she? Was she sorry that it took us this long to find each other again, or was it something else?

"This is all my fault. I should have never left you to begin with, and I should have done better to reach you."

She started pacing back and forth, constantly pulling at her hair in stress, much like I do. Growing rather annoyed, I ran at her and pulled her into a tight hug. I felt her wrap her arms around me and put her head into my neck.

"I have missed you so, so much Lucia," I whispered in her ear, trying my best to hug her tighter to her.

My eyes were burning, the venom working overtime to dry the tears that wanted out. "Sh, I know, I know. I've missed you too. So much," she whispered back.

She slowly pulled away from me. "What happened to you, Lucia? I waited for you. I looked for you, and I couldn't find you anywhere. I feared you were dead. Yet here you are."

I chucked myself back at her again, burying myself into her and whimpering quietly. I heard Esme and Tanya mutter for the rest of the room to leave and then everyone emptied out the house, leaving just me and Lucia.

Sighing, she took my hand and led me towards the couch.

I sat down first, then Lucia followed. She looked really happy and really upset too. Her emotions seemed to be everywhere but I had to know the answers to my questions.

"Lucia, where were you? Why didn't you meet me in New York? Did you forget about me?" I whispered.

With a frown on her face, she shook her head. "No, I didn't forget, Bella. I was trapped in a dungeon." She sighed heavily. "I guess it would be easier if I explain from the beginning."

She squeezed my hand at my sharp intake of breath. For a moment, she looked out the window then back at me. "When I was changed into this monster, I had no idea where I was, or who I was. Everything was so unclear to begin with. I was a vampire for three days before yourself. It took me a day and half before everything came back to me and that's when I remembered what had happened to mother, father and us."

She clenched her jaw, straightening her chin in the way that she did when she was human and trying her hardest not to cry. "I kept visiting you but it was a horrible sight really. You constantly withered in agony and kept moaning quietly to yourself, which was nothing compared to your screams. You were in so much pain. The fact that I couldn't do anything about it upset me more than I would like to say."

I gave her hand another tight squeeze to continue. She gave me a brief smile. "I felt these urges, like I had no control over them. They controlled me. That was when I made the decision to leave you. I had to get out there, in the world. Talking to Dylan, he had said it was a great idea, especially since two newborn vampires would be devastating together."

She let a cruel smile play on her face, which made my stomach tighten. How many people saw that smile before she killed them?

"I asked him to tell you everything and to give you mother's necklace. Did he give it to you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," I said, pointing it out on my body.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Good. After I left the house we were in, I decided to go back home. Which was no small journey. Just to get there I had to charm seven men and four women. I wanted to see if anyone was still alive, if they knew who these people were and to see what damage had happened to our village, to see if there was anything left standing after the fire."

Lucia looked at me, her eyes turning slightly dark and clouding over. "Oh, Bella," she moaned mournfully.

"How wrong could I have been? I was so stupid to go back home."

I could feel the anger and sadness well up inside of me, threatening to ooze out my very skin. It must have been awful seeing the village, the way it would have been after the fire. Charred trees and black streets, covered by a heavy smoke.

"They were there, Bella, they were waiting for me. They even knew who I was. I tried to fight, I tried to run but even with my newborn strength and abilities, I could not take them all on. They surrounded me and dragged me away."

Clenching my hands, I asked the question lingering in my thoughts. "Who was there Lucia, who was waiting for you? How could they know you would go back home?"

She stared at me with sad eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "I-I do not know how they knew I would head back home. For all I know, Bella, they weren't waiting for me. But they knew who I was, they said my name. I didn't know who they were back then, but I do now."

She fell silent for a moment. "I do now," she mumbled again, more quietly. I only just heard it.

"Who are they? What did they want from you? Where did they take you?" My questions spilled out of my mouth desperately.

"They are the Knight-Shield pack, that's what they call themselves. They're half breeds of vampire and werewolf. Hybrids. But they're are some normal vampires and werewolves there too. They captured me. I had no choice but to surrender and go with them. It was that or death."

Lucia suddenly had a dark look across her face. "I should have chosen death."

I felt as if I should have Goosebumps. "Hey, what do you mean? What about me?" I asked selfishly.

I looked to the carpet, I couldn't look her in the eye. I knew I was being unfair. "I looked for you Lucia. I even went to a camp, but you weren't there," I shouted furiously, guilt drowning me.

"I am so sorry, Bella. You have no idea what they did to them, to us. There were tubes, glass tanks, cages like the ones we were put in before we were turned. They killed people. They did a lot of nasty things to the human women. They experimented."

My eyes widened. What? "When did you come looking for me, because they moved me three days before the Volturi attacked the camp. I'm assuming you mean the one In Alaska?"

I nodded. "That's the one we attacked and looked for you. I killed a silver wolf. He said... h-he did stuff to you."

Standing up. I growled at her and the memory. "Did he?" I barked at, my eyes snapping to her.

Standing up too, she wrapped me up into a small hug before pushing me back down onto the couch. This upset me more, she was stalling.

"They did experiments on me, yes, but that was not the worst part, Bella. They were impregnating women, torturing them. They made me watch. They did things to me that I will not talk about. They were creating something."

I kept scrunching up my fists into balls and releasing them. "What do you mean, creating something?"

"I don't know. At first, I thought they were making the Hybrids. But then they began impregnating human women, I assume to create naturally born vampire or half breeds. There was another project happening at the same time. I tried to figure it out but they realised this and moved me."

"Moved you?"

"Yes, it was another camp, similar to the one I was in before. Only this time, it was darker, slightly smaller too, much more cramped."

I grabbed hold of my sisters hand and gave it another gentle and reassuring squeeze.

"How long were you in there for?"

Her face darkened again. "I was there for twenty years Bella. Twenty fucking years."

She stood up and went to the window, looking out. I knew there was something else. I went over to her and rested my head on her shoulder, while looking out of the window. She tucked me into her, lying her head on top of mine.

"They're hunting me. They have been for forty seven years now. I can never be in one place for too long, they will find me."

"I will not let that happen, Lucia. Your here, with us. We'll protect you. I promise. I have waited, even prayed for this day to come and I'm not letting you go now. I have missed you so much."

I saw a flicker of a smile across her face before it disappeared again. "You sound like Kate."

Confused, I frowned then raised an eyebrow. Well that doesn't really surprise me. Kate would try and get in with my sister, she was stunning. That woman.

"I went looking for you, you know. I went to New York while I was on the run. I couldn't find you. I even went to the Volturi.

"You went to them?" I seethed.

"They told me to go away, that they did not care about the werewolves. The only thing they did say, was that you were heading to Alaska."

"That's all they told you? I swear, the next time I see them I will kill them. They promised they would inform me if they found you.

Seeing her confusion, I answered her un-spoken question. "I went to them for help to find you and to ask where Carlisle was."

"I went to Alaska and ran into Tanya and her family. But that was when my life changed. That was when I saw Kate, she looked so beautiful." She had a dreamy look across her face.

"Wait, are you and Kate mates?" I asked incredulously, lifted my head to look at her.

She turned to look at me, happiness singing in her skin. "Yes, we are. I understand that you and Rosalie are mates?"

It was my turn to grin. "Yeah."

"Well I guess I'll have to give her the older sister speech, you know what I mean?"

She grinned, returning my smile. "Don't you dare, Lucia!" I laughed.

"So, about your eyes... I'm assuming that you haven't been with the Denali's long? When did you start our diet?"

"Not too long ago. I had no choice but to kill animals when I was on the run. I was often in forests and stuff, but I always tried to get close to towns and cities. It would make it more difficult for them to get me and no, I haven't been with the Denali's that long, only a week and a half."

A week and a half? She started to laugh at the pout on my face.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner, I wanted to, I really did. But I had some other stuff on my mind. Plus, they didn't want me to go right away."

Crossing my arms, I huffed at her. "You mean Kate didn't want you to go right away."

"Oh come on, don't be a baby. I did come and see you, didn't I?"

Pouting, I looked away from her. "Yeah, but that is besides the point Lucia."

She put her arm around my shoulder gently. "But I still don't understand," I whispered as I hugged her. "What did the pack want with you, Lucia?" I questioned her softly.

"At the time, I did not know what they would want with a vampire, but I would rather not go into it just now Bella. For now, let me enjoy my sisters company, something I have not had the pleasure in doing so for such a long, long time."

I couldn't help but lean into her. It was so good to hear her again, to see her again and I was so glad that she was safe.

"So what happened with you, Bella? How did you end up here?" Lucia asked.

I took a deep breath and began to tell her my story since I last saw her. I told her about the stuff that had happened, raising a mixture of snarls and laughs from her. By the end of it, Lucia was grinning at me from ear to ear.

"I love you, baby sis," she stated out of nowhere.

I felt like a bubble of happiness. "I love you too. But what about the Cullen's? Will you tell them what happened to you in order to receive their help?"

I found this somewhat curious, wondering what she would tell them or if she would tell them anything all.

"Tanya and her family will have already told them my story," she said, smiling brightly at me.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I told them too while I told you about myself. Besides, they're outside now anyway."

How long had they been outside? I wondered to myself dryly. Lucia started laughing before a very happy Kate came swishing through the doors and wrapped my big sister up into a very tight hug.

Laughing, they both collapsed onto the couch and then started to kiss affectionately.

"Oh god! Ew! Ew!" I shouted immaturely.

I clapped my hands over my eyes. "Can you not kiss in front of me please?!" I shouted in horror.

I looked at them between the parting of my fingers and they burst out laughing before Kate sped over to me, pulling me into a gentle hug. "You never said that when we kissed, Bella."

I gave Kate a mortified look. I wasn't planning on telling my sister that myself and her mate were sleeping together for seventy years. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Your sister doesn't care. Now stop being a spoiled sport and let me and your sister share some happiness together," Kate said before throwing herself at my sister again.

"Ok, I have to leave and be sick," I declared.

Making my way outside, I came across the rest of the family. The Denali's and the Cullen's were talking to each other. They were all having conversations outside in the rain. Rosalie came right over to me before I could even spot her.

"I put my foot outside for ten seconds and you're on me like a fly to shit," I commented dryly.

Rosalie laughed so hard I thought she was going to fall over. When she could stand straight again and let go of her belly that she'd been clutching, she wrapped her arm around my waist securely.

"What's going on?" I asked into the open, where everyone was talking.

Like a switch, everyone stopped talking. Tanya was the first to blur over to me, to give me a hug, followed by everyone else. "We're going to be staying in Forks for a while. Esme has very kindly gave us her home on the other side of the forest."

I turned towards Esme in surprise. "You have another home?" I asked, wondering if it was as big as this one.

"Yes I do, I created it, but we prefer to live in this one, our original home."

I nodded, focusing back on Tanya. "So what's going on then? Are you staying because Lucia is being hunted?" I asked.

Tanya frowned. "Yes, that's why we're staying close, so that we can all protect her."

"Are you are all prepared to protect her? This could mean one of us getting hurt."

This sparked a protest of angry snarls and hisses before both Tanya and Carlisle quieted everyone down. "Yes, we know of the potential consequences, but we are prepared to help her. You and Lucia are our family now. I am sure Carlisle will agree with me. Family stick together."

Tanya stated the last part like we were blood related, but no one seemed to have any objections to this and everyone nodded their heads.

"Thank you. So what now? You guys are going to live across the forest, but what if they come for her? What will we do then? Will we not draw a battle plan?" I asked.

Jasper stepped away from Alice and offered me a small smile. "We are already working on one Bella," he said.

"Ok, so when is it going to be done then?" I snapped.

"Soon." Came his southern drawl reply.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair. This was all too much, too stressful. "I'm sorry. I do not want to seem demanding or snappy. But this is my sister. I lost her once, I don't want to again," I admitted quietly.

At that moment, both Kate and Lucia came out of the house, holding hands. Lucia blurred over to me and kissed my cheek before turning her attention to Rose. "May I have a word?" She asked bluntly.

I felt Rose stiffen before nodding her head. I watched as they both disappeared back into the house.

"Carlisle, it was great to see you again. I am sorry for the shortness of our visit, I promise we will be back later on to see the family again, but I would like us to get settled into her new home." Tanya put her hand on his shoulder.

"That is fine, Tanya. Do not worry. I am sure we will see each other a lot more now that you are staying in the area." He gave a smile to her before turning to me.

"I would like your help later on tonight, please. Both you and Rosalie, so come and find me once you are done." With that, he turned and entered the house with the family right behind him.

"Bella, I want to speak to you a little later on. Why don't you stop by the house before you talk to Carlisle?" Tanya asked.

Before I could answer her, she got into her car, which was a Porsche Cayenne. Carman and Eleazar got into there's too, a Audi A1 sport back.

Leaving only Kate standing there with a massive frown across her face. I would have laughed had I not been worried too. She was obviously worried about Lucia.

I was worried about both of them, my sister and what she was saying to Rosalie. Mainly Rosalie's reaction to whatever my sister was saying to her was worrying me.

I spun around to see Rose and Lucia walking out of the house. Rose had an annoyed look across her face, while Lucia had a much more calmer look about her.

"Hey, is everything ok?" I asked them.

They both nodded their heads. Yeah, ok, that helps. Lucia came over to me first and the look of hurt across Kate's face was enough for me to giggle.

Seriously, she looked like she wanted to come over here and slap me, which I thought was pretty rude but I shook it off.

"Bella come over to the house tomorrow. I want to spend some time with my little sister, ok?" She asked me.

"Why tomorrow?"

"Because me and Kate are going back up to Denali to get the rest of our things."

I was about to protest when she put up her hand to stop me. "Don't worry, everyone is coming with me, aside from Tanya and Danielle. I will be fine, I promise you, and I also promise we will spend more time together. Me, you, Kate and Rosalie, how does that sound?"

I nodded and hugged her tightly. She patted my back softly. "I love you, Bella, ok?"

"I love you too."

She squeezed me before letting go and walking over to Kate. She waved at me before disappearing with Kate. A familiar pair of hands wrapped around my waist.

"You ok baby?" Rose asked me while kissing the top of my head.

"Baby?" I repeated. She had never called me that before.

"Yeah, baby. Don't you like it? I think it suits you."

I could hear the grin in her voice as she said it. I turned around in her arms before leaning into her, my face at the crook of her neck. "Do you know where the Denali's are living?"

"Yes, I do. Baby."

With a growl, I shoved her playfully, something that made her grin at me, showing off her perfect teeth.

"So what did my sister say to you?" I asked while putting my hands on my hips.

"Nothing much. Just that, if I did something to hurt you, then she would hurt me. But I had to point out that we were mates and that I would never hurt you. But she said she didn't care."

"Right well, I want to go to the Denali's now. Can we take your car?"

I began to make my way towards the garage doors, which were already open. I heard Rose huff behind me but she said nothing as she got into her car. I wondered if Lucia would be there.

We spoke less than ten minutes ago, surely she would be there, wouldn't she? The trip to the Denali's new home didn't take long, maybe seven or eight minutes.

It was closer to our house than I thought. Like our house, it was cut off from the main highway and was about two to three miles down a dirt path before you could see the house.

I felt my heart drop a little when I only smelled one scent and saw only one car parked outside. The house was big, two stories high and much more modern than the Cullen's.

But like the Cullen's, it had windows everywhere. Rose cut off the engine and we hoped out of the car. I made my way inside.

Clearly, Esme had someone working on this because I doubted it looked like this when she first started out. The inside was massive and very open.

The floor was made of wood. There was one big room as soon I entered. I could see the living room to the right, then there was the kitchen to the left, which was also massive. I wondered why.

It's not like we ate. I would have to ask Esme about that later. There was stairs at the very back of the room and a door to the far right of the room, which I presumed was the garage.

Tanya was laying on the couch with Danielle laying on her lap, both of whom were watching T.V. Tanya looked up and formed a grin across her face, pointing to the couch to take a seat, which both Rosalie and myself did.

Danielle sat up off Tanya's lap and grinned at me.

"So I guess everyone is away huh?" I asked into the silence.

"Yes, I am afraid so. But they will be back later on tonight I believe." Tanya's voice rang through the house.

"You said you wanted to speak with me, Tan?" I asked.

"Yes. First of all, we are not going to be going to school with you or any of the other Cullen's. We feel it would be better if some of us went to college. Which will be Sarah, Irina and Danielle. Your sister and Kate are going to open up a small book store in town."

Wow, so these guys have it all sorted out. "Secondly, I would like to say that we are very sorry for not getting Lucia to you sooner, with the whole Kate thing we thought it was best for her to wait at least a week before she came to see you. So again, I am very truly sor-aaah!" Tanya suddenly screamed, which made us all jump.

"What, what is it?" I asked, my eyes scanning around the place to see what had made her scream.

I could see nothing. "Your face!"

Rosalie spoke up. "You look older, Bella..."

Danielle started clapping her hands together. "Oh! Oh! That must be your other gift, the one Eleazar talked about! The one with the appearance thingy."

Rosalie pulled out a small mirror and handed it over. I looked at it and I could see that my face looked older, like ten times older. Ew. I shoved the mirror back at Rosalie, who started to laugh.

Scrunching up my face, I focused on looking normal again. When I opened my eyes I was glad to hear that I looked normal again, but what the hell? How did I do that?

I would have to figure that one out on my own. We spent the next couple of hours talking before we decided to head home and see what Carlisle wanted. The ride back home was a nice one.

Me and Rose talked about what we could do with my sister and Kate. When we got home, Carlisle was waiting for us outside. Rose parked the car in the garage and we went out to meet him.

"Carlisle, what's wrong?" I asked immediately.

He wore a frown across his face. "I need your help, it's the wolves. They want to meet us at the treaty line and from what they said across the phone, it does not sound good, I'm afraid."

I heard Rose snarl from behind me. "Those filthy mutts, I will not go and speak to them Carlisle. After what they did to Bella I don't think I could control myself. Damn mutts. If I go down there I will kill them."

I faced Rose, putting my hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at me. "We will go down there, ok? Carlisle wants our help, so we will give it to him."

She did not look happy about it, but at least she never retaliated either. Looking at Carlisle, I smiled at him. For the first time in my vampire life, I felt great.

My sister was safe and I got to see her again for the whole day tomorrow. I had Rose as well. Could life be any better?

The only down side, was my sister being hunted and the over reactive La Push wolves. I sighed. "Lead the way, Carlisle."

A/N: So a quick few things to point out. Firstly: I want my Bella to be something more than what she is in Twilight; to be portrayed in a whole other way to which you know her.

Hence the reason why she has three gifts. On another note: could I get some reviews for this chapter? I really want to know what people are thinking of the story so far... thank you for reading.


	18. Joining the rebel's

A|N: A massive thanks to everyone for reading, following, following and reviewing this fic. It has now reached over a hundred reviews which I deem pretty cool for a first story.

Anyway, this chapter was done so you guys have a bit of knowledge as to why and what's going on in the next chapter, which will hopefully be up ASAP.

However, I am back to work this week so my time will be limited. Another massive thanks to you all. I value your opinion a lot on this story, so enjoy!

"I still don't see why we have to go with Carlise," Rosalie whined as we made our way towards the treaty line.

I flicked Rose in the arm to get her to shut up. "Rosalie, if you do not stop your whining, I will make you shut up. Got it?" I threatened playfully.

Rolling her eyes, she mocked growled at me while shoving my shoulder. "Rosalie, Bella, quiet, please," Carlisle called from overhead.

A foul stench filled my nose. We stopped beside Carlisle, who was staring intently ahead of him. Rustling came from the bushes ahead, to which I began to squint to see who was there.

Two brown wolves came out of the bushes, followed by two guys. The same two who were there last time I was on their land. Jacob and Sam, I believe their names were.

They stopped just before the treaty line, their noses scrunched up in disgust as if some one had just wafted shit right in front of them.

Carlisle was the first to break the silence. "Hello again Sam, Jacob. You called me?"

There were soft growls coming from the two brown wolves. "Yes we did, bloodsucker. We know that there's more of you. What are you planning here, an army or something? To kill us all?" Jacob shouted, his entire body shaking with underline fury. His voice quivered with rage.

Carlisle took a small step back before answering. "No. We are not planning to kill anybody. They are our extended family, Jacob. They are here to visit us. As long as we did not turn any of them, and they do not set foot upon your land, then the treaty is still valid."

"Yeah, the same treaty you filthy mutts have broken time, and time again," Rosalie stated, stepping forward.

I reached over to her and put my hand on her waist, trying to cool her off. "Easy, Rose," I whispered quietly into her ear.

I was sure I saw her shiver slightly as my lips brushed her earlobe. One of the wolves snarled, showing its teeth venomously and for a split second, I thought it was going to launch itself at Rosalie.

"You dare speak to us like that? You filthy leech! I should kill you right now!" Jacob roared.

The birds in the trees scattered around us in fright. Growling, I tightened my hold on Rosalie, more so for support for myself.

I could feel anger welling up inside of me and I was not going to let it out on these mutts, they were just looking for an excuse to attack us.

"Jacob, shut up now," Sam snarled at him.

Jacob looked like he wanted to disobey but couldn't. Sam then looked straight at Carlisle. "You listen here, Cullen. Thanks to your 'extended family'." Sam paused to do finger quotes.

"We have been doubling in numbers, when we're not meant to be. These kids are too young. You will not endanger my people," Sam bit out.

"Listen here, pup. We don't care that people are changing. It's your own fault for being so damn nasty, you filthy dog!" Rosalie shouted.

I noticed Carlisle put his hand over his mouth for a second before he turned to Rose. "Rosalie, please stay calm. We do not want to start anything here."

He turned back to face Sam. "How is it possible? My extended family have only been here for a day... I think you are lying Sam," Carlisle responded calmly.

Angry snarls tore through the air. "START SOMETHING? YOU DO NOT WANT TO START SOMETHING! YOU STARTED SOMETHING WHEN YOU TOOK HER FROM ME! SHE WAS MY FUCKING SISTER, YOU BASTARD! AND YOUR LITTLE BLOODSUCKER KILLED HER! I'LL KILL YOU!" Jacob screamed at the top of his voice.

Both me and Rose jumped in front of Carlisle as Jacob burst into a wolf, who was growling so fiercely it made me feel a little uneasy.

"JACOB! THAT IS ENOUGH! NOW GO BACK TO THE OTHERS! NOW! YOU HAVE LET YOUR EMOTIONS GET THE BEST OF YOU, AGAIN!" Sam raised his voice, ordering Jacob to leave, which he did reluctantly.

"Now you listen here, Cullen. This is not over. There are more of us each day and I don't like it. I am not lying, there have been six people shifting since your family came to town," Sam said quietly to Carlisle, who did not seemed fazed by it in the least.

With a last growl, Sam and the two wolves turned their backs to us and headed off in the direction they came from.

With a heavy sigh, Carlisle smiled at me and Rose. "Well, that could have went better. But I suppose I did not expect much better."

With a snort, Rose spoke up into the silence. "Look Carlisle, I don't care about them. They are far too young and think too much of themselves. If they break the treaty, I say we fight them."

With a slight cough, I spoke up to Carlisle, a question was bothering me and I had to know what happened. "Carlisle, what did Jacob mean by, 'your little blood sucker killed my sister'?"

In an instant, Carlisle's face saddened and he seemed to be staring into space, into another time.

With a heavy sigh, he replied. "It... was an accident. I hold myself responsible for it too. I could not get there in time... Caitlin killed Jacobs sister in her newborn faze. She did not mean it, but the wolves were on our land and they tried to attack us, so she fought back and killed her. She bled out. If I had managed to get there just a few minutes earlier, I could have saved her. I am sure of it."

I could see that Carlisle held this close to him. There was nothing but pure emotion on his face. He blamed himself for this and I couldn't help but ask why. It clearly wasn't his fault, nor was it Caitlin's. They came onto their land and attacked first.

"Should we head back then?" I asked.

I received a nod from Rose and Carlisle. We turned and left the treaty line, heading back towards the house.

As soon as we arrived at the house, we were bombarded with questions. "How did it go?" Came Emmet's booming voice as we walked into the living room.

I was about to answer when a hand grabbed my arm. "Where do you think you are going?" Rosalie asked me, raising her eyebrow for added effect.

"Uh, I was going to take a seat and answer some questions with Carlisle. Why, where are you going?" I found myself asking her.

Her mouth turned slowly into a very sexy smile before she answered me. "I am going for a shower and seen as the shower is big enough to fit two people, you will be joining me. I am not having my mate smelling like a filthy, wet dog. Now come on."

I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open. The room erupted in laughter, then faded into the back ground as we left. I was still focusing on Rosalie's words. She wanted to have a shower with me.

She was going to be wet and naked, with me. Not wasting any more time, I let go of Rosalie's arm and blurred up stairs. The sounds of the Cullen's laughter ringing in my ears.

The instant I got into the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes, maybe a little too eagerly and waited for Rose. I thought she was right behind me. Just as I thought that, Rosalie came walking into the room.

My eyes widened as she closed the door behind her and came walking towards me, wait. Correction, stalking, towards me. She was all hips and thighs and god, I was dying again.

She was naked, fucking naked and I was absolutely positive that she was walking this slow to get me more heated up.

"Rosalie, please stop teasing me," I groaned and slightly begged.

Rose grinned at me while walking in what had to be slow motion. So I turned around and pressed the switch to turn the water on before turning back and admiring Rosalie's goddess body.

Her golden hair hitting her back in curls, her beautiful breasts and plump thighs. Oh god. When she finally arrived to me, she was grinning from ear to ear. We both stepped under the water, my hair getting soaked in an instant.

I could not take my eyes off her breasts. I watched greedily as the water ran off them and down her taunt stomach. I didn't even notice Rose pick up a sponge until she put it in my hand.

"Why don't you stop staring at them and give them a wash for me?" Rose purred seductively.

With a loud moan and growl of possession, I grabbed hold of her tightly and roughly rubbed the sponge over her breasts.

"You're killing me," she groaned.

"Then die quietly," I teased.

"Hey!"

Seth POV:

I was sitting, listen to my music when my sister, Leah shouted at me. Sighing, I jumped up off the bed and made my way down stairs. The delicious aroma of food filled my nose and instantly, I let out small moan. I was starving.

I made my way towards the kitchen where my sister and her girlfriend/imprint were making the food.

I reached out for a bit of toast but my sister slapped my hand away. "Hey, what was that for? I'm hungry! Can I not have a bit of toast?" I questioned her.

She grinned and shook her head. I turned towards Claire. "Can I please?! You always listen to me Claire, please?" I begged.

She just ignored me for a second before deciding to answer. "Nope, I'm with your sister for once. Besides, Sam will be back soon and then you will have to go and find out what happened."

I let my shoulders fall. "Fine. Then I'm going out. Maybe he's back already. I just hope that Jacob hasn't killed someone."

They both let out small giggles, with Leah shouting for me to be safe. She was always the worrier, especially after mum and dad died, leaving just me and her all alone.

Though we both had great support from our friends and close family. I arrived at Sam and Emily's place. Jared, Paul and Embry were already outside.

I heard shouting coming from the inside of the house. "Hey guys, what's going on?" I asked.

Paul stood up and ran at me, getting me into a head lock and knuckling my head. "Ah! Get off!"

"Hey Seth. Nothing much, Jacob and Sam. Jacob arguing about what happened at the treaty line is all."

Paul released me then made his was back over to Embry and Jared. Shrugging, I made my way over to them. Taking a seat, I just waited patiently for Sam. I could hear the arguing in the house before it went quiet.

BANG, the front door was shoved open. The sound made me jump in my seat.

"FOR GODS SAKE, JACOB! DON'T SLAM MY FUCKING DOOR!" Emily's voice rang from inside the house.

Jacob ignored her and walked straight on, right to the forest. After Jacob disappeared, I was about to enter the house when I was stopped by Sam. "Seth, may I have a word with you?"

I nodded my head and walked with Sam to where Jacob just disappeared to. "I need you to speak with the other members for me. I need you to convince them, that includes your sister and her, uh imprint. If you don't, I fear they will get hurt."

Frowning, I stuffed my hands into my pockets before answering him. "Sam, I want to help you, I do. But they don't listen to me, no one does, you know that. You're Alpha, they listen to you."

My voice came out with more confidence than I expected. I noticed Sam's hand shake a little before he spun me round to face him. "Now you listen here, Seth. I don't give a fuck if they don't listen to you. Make them. Don't you see what could happen here? If you don't, there could be an uprising. We should be working together to kill the vampire's. These other people, they're rebels, trying to start something that will be no good for any of us. They have already done a number of stunts as you very well know. They must be stopped."

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. I counted to four before opening them again. "Yeah, ok. Whatever Sam, I'll do it," I muttered.

He gave me a pat on the shoulder. "You should get back to your house, speak to your sister. Then speak to the rest."

Nodding, I stood up and began to make my way towards my house again. As I arrived at my house, I could smell the food in the air. I walked into the living room to see my sister and Claire spread across the whole couch, their dirty dishes lying on the table beside the couch.

Damn it Leah, where's mine? I thought. I was starving. They were both watching some stupid TV programme. Claire stuck her hand in a Doritos bag that was lying across her stomach and put it into her mouth. The sound of her crunching only made me hungrier.

"Hey Leah, is there any food left? Because you guys look like you've eaten it all," I said in a slow, whiny voice, hoping to get my point across.

With a small groan, Leah lifted her head off the side of the couch. "Yeah, it's in the kitchen, bro."

Bro, really? Whatever Leah. I made my way into the kitchen, grabbed a plate and started dishing things onto it. I went back to the living room and took a seat on the arm chair.

"So how did it go? You weren't gone long. Did Jacob kill someone?" Leah asked from the couch.

"Nu bu smn wns mi to tlk ti yu," I mumbled, my face full of food.

I sat there, shovelling down the food piled on my plate, swallowing it all before I answered properly. "No, but Sam wants me to talk to you two, and the others as well."

Leah growled. "God damn it. Look Seth, I have already said once. I am going to stand by James. He is Claire's brother and your friend. You need to stand by him too and not Sam anymore. I think it is time you break away from him and join James, like the others are doing too."

I finished off the rest of my plate, taking my time to mull over my answer. "Sam has the bigger number though. Wouldn't it mean us leaving the Rez? Besides, I don't know how to break away."

Claire finished the Doritos bag, scrunched it up and chucked it at me. "Seth, you are one of the sweetest people I have ever met aside from your sister, of course. You and Sam, you have different opinion's. You like the vampires and so do we, but Sam doesn't and you can break away from him. You just have to shift first."

Nodding. I made to stand up but Leah reached out to me. "Wait, what are you going to do? Are you going to shift to break away?" She asked, her voice full of worry.

"Leah relax, geez. Of course I am going to try and break away, get some peace from them. But I guess this means that I can no longer speak to them."

Leah smiled sympathetically. I made my way towards our back door in the kitchen. I pushed open the door and made my way towards the forest that resigned behind our house. I was due to start patrol in a few hours but if I managed to break away, then I wouldn't have to.

Making my way deeper into the forest, I was lost on my crazy train of thoughts. How was this going to work? What was going to happen? Shaking my head clear of my current thoughts, I started to run.

The familiar feeling of heat rushing through my body before I jumped over a rock and my body exploded into the sandy wolf that I am.

Quill: Seth? What are you doing here? You don't start your patrol until nine tonight, it's only six thirty.

I can tell the time, Quill. I just wanted to shift.

Quill: Ok, fair enough.

Any movement?

Quill: None. No sign of a blood sucker anywhere in sight.

Cool.

Quill: So are you going to fight? Or?

Fight? What do you mean?

Quill: Oh. I, uh, guess Sam never mentioned it to you. You know what, it doesn't matter.

Hey, Quill, come on man, tell me.

Quill: Ok, but don't think about this when anyone else shifts, ok?

Ok.

Quill: Sam wants us to attack the Cullen's.

What?! How can he do this? It's wrong, they haven't done nothing to us, Quill. Their not our enemy here! Sam is! He's manipulating our minds, he's deceiving us. Think about the elders, what will they say, huh?

Quill: Well, you see... Well the thing is, Sam doesn't want the elders to know. So we're going to do it secretly.

Disobey the elders? Are you fucking serious? He'll be banished from this land if he gets caught! Is Sam really that stupid?

Quill: No. But this isn't just for Sam. It's for Jacob as well.

Jake is an idiot. It was an accident, I thought we were all clear on that.

Quill: You sound like you love them. They're vampires, Seth! Fucking vampires, are you forgetting that? They're scum, ok? They killed Jacobs sister in cold blood! Yet here you are, defending them! You better not let Sam hear you speaking like that.

Yeah well, maybe me and Sam will not have to put up with each other much more.

Quill: What you talking about Seth? Really?! Your considering joining them aren't you? Listen, if you join them, your family will not be safe. The only reason your sister and Claire are still breathing, is because you are with us. If you leave, the results will be... well, I don't want to think about it.

Hm, well maybe you will not have to, Quill. I want to be with my sister. I hate Sam and after what you have told me, well I'm glad I'll be leaving him. Bye dude.

Quill: Hey! Seth, wait! Come on man, don't do this. They'll come after you. Do you understand that? They will kill you. Before the attack on the vampires. They plan on attacking the other wolves, to wipe them out. But not your sister, or her imprint, if you stay with us. If you don't, then this is not going to end well. I beg you Seth, don't do this. You're outnumbered here.

With a growl I dug my claws into the earth and closed my eyes, clearing my mind. Quill was still shouting frantically in my head.

I let my mind wander, trying to space it out, searching for something that wasn't there. My head ached and I almost keeled over in pain. Before suddenly, something clicked.

James: Hello Seth, is that you?

Yeah, James.

James: You broke away! Great stuff man. Do me a favour and tell your sister and mine that we are having a meeting at my house tonight.

Uh, ok. See you later then.

It was freaky hearing a new voice in my mind after so long of familiar mind textures. I closed my eyes and could feel my body heat up and start to shrink back. Holy shit, it worked. It actually worked.

I just broke away from the pack. Oh hell, I have to tell Leah and Claire. I spun around and ran towards our house.

"Leah, Claire!" I shouted from the back yard while making my way towards the kitchen door. I burst through it, still shouting both of them.

Leah and Claire were standing in the kitchen, both of them had their hands over their eyes. "Yeah, um, Seth, sweetie, can you put on shorts please?" Claire asked.

"Shit, sorry!"

I ran upstairs, grabbed a pair of shorts and ran back down again, stopping right in front of Leah. "We have to leave right now. I broke away from the pack and automatically joined James one. But listen, before that, I spoke to Quill and it doesn't sound good. He said Sam's planning an attack on the wolves that have not shown him allegiance and then plans to attack the Cullen's. We have to do something, we have to get out of here now!" I shouted. I was amazed that I didn't take a single breath.

"Whoa, wait, slow down for a second. Are you saying that Sam plans on attacking us? When?" Leah asked. The panic was obvious in her tone and body language. I hated seeing her worry.

"I think tonight. He will not be happy about someone else breaking away from him. We have to leave, right now!"

Leah and Claire looked at each other for a second before nodding. I looked at the clock on the wall. Ten to seven. Shit. Paul and Jacob are set to take over for Quill in ten minutes. Shit!

"Like, right now. Sam and the rest of the pack will find out soon. Please!"

They both nodded their heads. "Ok. We'll go back to my house and form a plan. No doubt that's what Sam will do."

"I think he has already got one formed. He was going to attack the wolves before the Cullen's."

Leah held up her hand. "Wait a moment, do the elders know about this?" She asked calmly.

"No they don't."

"Fuck."

I made my way upstairs, grabbing everything of importance to me and dumped it into my school bag before rushing back down stairs. I looked back at the clock.

"Fuck, it's seven! Leah, Claire, hurry the hell up! We have to move right now!"

Once Leah and Claire came back down stairs, we made our way out front and got into Leah's rusty old car.

To be honest I was surprised the thing was stilling running after all these years. It only took ten minutes to get to Claire's house and I was constantly checking the time.

Slamming on the breaks, Leah parked the car. There was about four cars already parked outside the house. Claire ran into the house and shouted for her brother. "James!"

"Yeah?" Came a gruff voice from the living room.

There was pizza boxes every where. The TV was on and the rest of his pack was here too.

"Look, we have to leave right now."

This seemed to confuse him and everyone else in the room. "What? Why do we have to leave?"

I figured this was my chance to jump in. "Because Sam and his pack are coming to kill you.

Everyone started laughing, which caused the girl, Shannon, to wake up from her position on couch. She dropped her pizza box on the table, which I noticed was pepperoni. "W-what's going on James?" She mumbled tiredly.

"Look James, before I left Sam's pack and joined your own, Quill spoke to me. He told me that Sam has planned an attack on us. He wants to kill anyone who is opposing him. He thinks he is the rightful ruler of the Rez. We have to leave, his pack outnumbers us."

My voice echoed loudly through the quiet room. It seemed to me all at once everyone started speaking before James told everyone to shut up. "Ok, what time is it?"

"It's twenty five past seven," Leah announced.

"Ok, look. If they're coming then they will be on their way now. So we have to make this quick. Can anyone think of anywhere that might be safe for us to hide?"

"There's a place up beside the mountain. Only thing is, it's on the Cullen's land. I doubt they would get us while we were there," I spoke up confidently.

There was a small murmur of agreement. "Ok, listen up everyone! We are going to do what Seth said and go up to that mountain. But remember, we have to do it slyly. We're on the Cullen's land now. Me, Seth, Carl and Mike will stand here and wait for them to come, giving everyone else a chance to get their safely."

"You can not be serious! Seth is just a baby! I will not leave him!" Leah cried out.

I growled at my sister. "I am not a baby, Leah! I can handle myself, ok?" I shot at her.

She seemed to shrink back gently before nodding her head in defeat. "What about our stuff?"

"Lisa and Amelia will take them to the mountain. They will have to ride on your backs, now go," James ordered.

Leah ran over to me and kissed my cheek. I gulped. What if this was the last time I saw her? The very thought made my stomach churn. It was fifteen silent minutes before we heard a sound.

Growls and loads of them too, were coming closer to the house before they stopped. There was a knock on the door and then Sam stepped in.

"Seth, James, Carl, Mike. How are you guys doing?" He looked at us all directly before speaking again. "Where is everyone else? I see you sent them to safety. Not that it matters. I can promise you, we will find them."

I stepped in front of Sam, my voice quivering with rage. "How can you do this Sam? There has to be another way. No one has to get hurt."

There was a few snarls from outside but I ignored them. "Seth there is no other way. Don't you see? I have to do this, for the good of the Rez. If you people are not with me, then you are against me and that makes you my enemy."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SAM? WE WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER, GREW UP BEING BEST FRIENDS. YOU NEED TO SNAP OUT OF THIS! WHAT WOULD THE ELDERS SAY?" James roared.

I noticed how it didn't have a good effect on Sam. His body started shaking. "The Elders don't have to know, James. You betrayed me, you are not my friend."

James closed his eyes then reopened them. "You have lost your way, Sam. Now we're leaving."

James made to move but Sam stepped in front of him, his face wore a smug smirk. "No, it is not me that has lost his ways, it is you and I don't think you are leaving. You see, you're outnumbered."

"You're greedy with power Sam. You were meant to help the people, to protect them. Yet here you are, going to kill someone who is exactly like you."

This seemed to enrage Sam and I was sure James saw this as well, as he shoved Sam backwards and he went crashing into the wall. This was our cue to get out of there. If we were truly outnumbered, we couldn't fight them.

We made our way towards the back door, bursting through it. We were met with eleven angry wolves and I didn't know what possessed me to do it, but I burst into my wolf form, as did the rest and I ran at the wolves surrounding us, giving the others the chance to escape.

James: Seth, what the hell are you doing?!

Go! Get out of here! Tell Leah I love her.

James: Seth, do not do this. I order you to stop.

Pack: SETH.

Their voices rang through my head but I shut them out. Running towards the wolves surrounding us had the effect I was hoping for, because the rest of them were not attacking and I was.

With a snarl, I managed to bite a wolf, ripping into its flesh. It let out a whimper of pain. Releasing it, I spun around and lunged at the next wolf, aiming a bite at its head but it saw me coming and ducked its huge head.

That was when I realised it was Jacob. Too submerged in my own thoughts, I wasn't paying attention. I felt teeth pierce into my flesh. I let out a wounded howl. I could feel claws ripping away at my fur.

I tried to fight back but I couldn't move. My body collapsed. It felt like it lasted forever. I was bleeding badly, I could tell. The wolves stopped attacking me and started running off, now the work was done.

Bleeding badly, I tried to stand up. But my legs were weak and I could hardly move. The pain was killing me slowly. I made my way towards the treaty line. I knew that Carlisle was a Doctor.

Maybe he would help me. In what felt like forever, I made it to the treaty line. The screaming in my head was louder now than it had been before. It seemed everyone was screaming for me, but I didn't have the strength to answer them.

I made it over the treaty line and could feel my body giving way. I collapsed before darkness overtook me.

Bella POV:

"Get him! Get him! Yes! Ha! Emmett, you lose again," Rosalie chanted while everyone laughed at Emmett.

He put his hand into his pocket and past me my fifty that I had won off of him today while we played video games. "Oh that's just bull shit," he said then slammed his controller down.

This made us all laugh again. I jumped up into Rosalie's lap and pulled her in for a kiss, which she happily deepened. I was about to keep the kiss going when a scent hit my nose and I knew instantly that I was not the only one who smelled it.

"Blood?" I asked, confused.

My eyes never darkened. I wondered why that was. It smelled horrible. Carlisle was the first to react, looking at me and then at Emmett and Edward. "Come with me you three. The rest of you, stay here, just in case."

Kissing Rosalie's cheek, I made my way out the house and towards the source of the scent. It only took two minutes to get there and I had to say, I had never seen Carlisle move so fast in my time here.

We slowed down when the scent was at its strongest. Moving behind Carlisle, I stepped to the side to see him bent over a young boy.

I recognised him. "Seth?" I whispered quietly.

I swear my stomach dropped. The scene in front of me wasn't nice. He looked ripped apart, his bones were broken by the looks of it and there was so many deep gashes across his body it made me sick.

"Will he be ok?" I asked Carlisle, who picked him up.

"I don't know, his cuts, they should have healed. Shifters, they have a unique skill. They heal fast, but he has lost a lot of blood. His cuts are not healing and he is still losing blood. We must get him back to the house, quickly. Emmett, Edward, do me a favour, scout the area. See if there is anything you can find out."

With that, Carlisle took off towards the house with Seth in his arms, the blood pouring from him like a waterfall, drenching Carlisle's doctors coat. God, I hope he was going to be ok.

A/N: IMPORTANT: this chapter was done in Seth's POV for a reason and that reason is the shifters of the rez play a big part in this story; so does Seth. Don't worry, you will see why in the coming chapters. Also, the packs are massively OOC. Please keep that in mind and also that this is an AU story. Again, thank you for reading.


	19. Getting some answers

AN: Hey guys, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. Things have been crazy for me. So anyway, I know some people weren't happy with the last chapter, but please keep in mind that this is an AU FIC and not set in Meyers Twilight universe, even if it has the same characters.

I just wanted to say that this is more or less a filler in some ways. Also, I am currently editing my chapters: all of them and adding small bits in to make them read better and entwine nicely. Thank you for reading!

"Edward, hold up," I said, running to catch up with him. "I'm coming with you."

He gave me his famous crooked smile before nodding his head as we began to search around and look for clues as to why Seth had been attacked.

After looking for half an hour straight we met back up with Emmett. "Hey, find anything?" I asked.

"Nothing, just more blood. You?"

Nodding, I replied, "Nothing." The fact that I had just seen a little boy covered in blood was still swimming in my head. "I am going to go back. I... have to check, make sure he is all right."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and ran back in the direction of the house. On my way there, I noticed a lot of blood on the floor. God, this isn't good. I just hoped Carlisle had got to him in time; that was a lot of blood to lose.

Coming to a halt just outside the house, I noticed that Tanya and Daniele were there, speaking with Alice, Amanda and Rosalie. Where was Caitlin? I shrugged my shoulders, making my way over to them.

They stopped talking when I went to stand beside Rosalie. "What's up?" I asked absentmindedly.

Tanya was the one to answer. "We have seen wolves crossing the land. They went up to the mountain, close to where we are staying. It looked like they were being chased."

With a heavy frown, I leaned into Rose and pecked her on the cheek. "We will have to speak to Seth about it, maybe he knows."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"Of course. But we will have to wait a while and let Carlisle do his magic," Alice added in.

"How is he, anyone know?" I found myself asking, and really wanting to know.

"He is fine, it will be just a few scars," Alice said, throwing her small arms in the air as if this was no big deal.

"Yeah, okay, well, I am going to go see him. Tanya, when will Lucia be back?" I really wanted to spend some time with my sister.

"She phoned me half and hour ago to say that they were going hunting, so I imagine that they will not be long, and I dare say that she will want to spend some time with you as well," Tanya finished off with a smile.

Grinning, I turned my attention to Rosalie. "You coming with me or…?" For a moment I thought Rosalie was going to cry at what I had just asked her.

"Nope, and you are having a shower once you are done. I won't let my mate stink like garbage and wet dog." Rosalie scrunched up her nose in a really cute way while I pouted, then shrugged.

Turning around, I entered the house and made my way up to Carlisle's office. The smell of Seth's blood was in the air, stinking the place out. I gave a small knock on the door before pushing it open.

Carlisle was bent over Seth, and by the looks of it he was giving him morphine or something medication wise. Esme was standing in the corner watching, a sad look across her face.

"How is he?" I asked to the silent room.

Carlisle stood up and turned to face me. His face too bore a sad look, but did his eyes show relief? "He will be fine. But if we hadn't gotten there when we did…" he did not finish his sentence, but instead scratched his head and shifted uncomfortably.

"So what happens now? How long will he be out for?" My voice was very panicky. Whoever had done this to him would pay. After all, he was only a little boy; he doesn't deserve this.

"Well, I'd say at least a few more hours. Bella, why don't you go and find Rosalie? Do something together, and I'll give you a call when he wakes up."

Nodding, I kept my eyes on Seth. The way he laid there emotionless sent a shiver down my spine. With a final nod, I made my way outside to where Rosalie stood patiently.

I nudged her arm to get her to break her attention away from Tanya. "Want to go do something?"

With a small scowl, Rosalie turned to look at me, her nose scrunched up. "Shower first, then we will do something."

Flashing her a sad look, I turned to leave before she placed her arm on mine. "I'll come with you?" she suggested with a sly smile.

Nodding, I grinned right back at her, before heading back into the house for a shower.

Leah POV's:

We waited over an hour on the mountain before they came to meet us. The smell of blood was in the air. They were hurt, but that's not what drew my attention in, my little brother was missing.

With a snarl, I marched up towards James. "Where the hell is my brother?" I demanded.

The look on his face said it all. Staring down at the ground, he whispered in a dead voice, "I don't know he—he ran towards them. I told him not to, but he did not listen to my order. He—he said to tell you he loves you, Leah."

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. What did he mean? What was he trying to say? Was he trying to say they… killed him? I was fighting the tears back.

"What happened? Tell me." My voice was so quiet that even I did not recognise it.

Taking a deep sigh, James closed his eyes. "After he ran at them to give us some time, we were outnumbered. I don't think he was thinking straight, but, Leah, they got to him. His pack mind went black after the screaming. I think he's dead, I am so sorry, Leah."

Dead? Did he just say my little brother was dead? Killed by those we grew up with? Those we deemed as friends? My body started to shake. I could feel my anger through the heat that coursed through my body.

With a scream, I exploded. Shredding the clothes I had on my back with a viscous growl, I began to run back down the mountain towards the Rez. They were going to pay for what they'd done, those bastards. How could they?

Ignoring the shouting and pleas for me to stay and not run away and do something foolish, I dug my claws deep into the earth as I sped up. This was Cullen territory, after all.

I did not want to be caught by one of them before I even had the chance to kill Sam, the monstrous leader of the Rez pack. Speeding through the forest, I came to a stop, looking down at the ground.

There was blood everywhere. Sniffing the air for the scent, I quickly recognised it as Seth's. Growling, I was confused, as the blood led towards the Cullen's. Making a judgment call, I decided to follow the trail.

Confused and a little bit intrigued as to why my brothers blood led in that direction, I followed the trail for another ten minutes, and came to a stop when I realised there were not one but five sickly sweet scents closing around me.

Bella POV:

The shower was great and relaxing; Rosalie made that bit better. I made my way downstairs to the living room. Emmet was playing computer games on his Xbox, shouting at the screen and no doubt losing, as per usual.

I couldn't contain my smirk at his behaviour. Walking over to the couch where Rosalie was sitting reading one of her magazines, and taking a seat on her lap, I pecked her cheek before turning to Emmett.

"Losing again?" I inquired, trying my best to keep my face straight, but I was having a hard time.

Lucky for Rosalie; she had a magazine to hide behind. I could still make out her smirk behind the pages, though.

With a small huff he pouted. "Yeah, but it's on the hardest difficulty."

With a small laugh I waved him off. "Whatever you say, big guy."

Turning my attention to Rosalie, I was about to ask a question when a scent hit my nose. It was a horrible stench that I recognised instantly. Followed by voices and the scents of the family standing up, I made my way outside along with Emmet and Rosalie.

"What's going on?" I asked Esme, who was standing the closest to us.

With a small frown at me she answered. "I found her in our land whilst I was hunting. She was following the trail of blood when she shifted to her human form; she said Seth is her brother. We are taking her to him and maybe we can get some answers along the way. He should be awake by now."

With a final nod, Esme blurred upstairs and Leah followed right behind, on her heels. A loud snarl tore me away from the stairs and back to Rosalie; whose eyes were black. Her lip was curled up.

"What?" I asked her, already I had an idea as to why she was so was upset and hoped I was wrong.

"That thing is inside our house. We already have one of them, but another? That's adding insult to injury. And she stinks," Rosalie said with a small huff, crossing her arms over her chest.

I couldn't help but smile at the way she did it, it was kind of cute and childish at the same time.

I hit her playfully with a small bat of my arm. "Rosalie, stop. Leave them alone. Why don't you go and work on the car or something? I want to go and speak to them and find out what is happening. You are more than welcome to come with me."

I could've laughed at Rosalie's face. It was obvious that I had offended her in some way.

"Yeah, I'm going to the garage. I won't be coming up the stairs with you. I can't, sorry."

Kissing me on my cheek, Rosalie turned and left the room, heading straight for the garage. With a heavy sigh I blurred up stairs to Carlisle's office. Upon entering the room the first thing I noticed was Seth.

He was standing on his feet, hugging his sister Leah, who was crying on his shoulder. His eyes flickered over to me in recognition. He gave me a small smile and nodded his head, patting his sister softly on the back.

He was whispering to her, "it's okay, Lee-Lee, I'm fine."

Leah mumbled a response so soft that had I been human I wouldn't have been able to make it out. "It's not okay, Seth. Those fuckers almost killed you."

Pulling back so that she was eye level with him, she continued, "these were people we once considered friends and family, Seth, the very people we grew up with. They tried to attack us and very nearly killed you."

With a small growl, Seth shook his head. "They are not friends or family anymore, Leah."

I decided now would be as good a time as ever to intervene. Stepping forward to stand beside Esme and Carlisle, I spoke at Seth and Leah.

"Seth, I have to ask. What happened? Can you tell us? The more we know, the more we can help you."

Taking a seat, the boy looked at me in a funny way before sighing. "Yeah, I guess we should explain what happened. So, as I am sure you already know, Sam hates you with a passion and if Sam hates you then the pack hates you. However, there are two packs on the Rez, not one."

There was a shock-filled intake of breath from both Esme and Carlisle, who spoke up immediately. "There are two packs on the Rez? How is this possible? How could we have not known about it?" Esme said before Carlisle jumped in and added to the question.

"And more importantly, how would that work? Two packs? Separate packs, as well?" Seeing Seth's puzzled face he added, "I'm sorry for the questions, Seth. We are merely being curious," he finished with a small smile, which Seth returned with a wave of his hand.

"Nah, don't worry about it. You saved my life. Basically, to answer the first question of how is it possible, there was a guy named James. He was one of the first in the pack right after Sam. James and Sam, they don't like each other, never have really. One day James was so frustrated and bored with Sam bossing him around all the time that he managed, somehow, to find a way to break away from the pack."

I couldn't help but butt in. "I'm guessing that you managed to break away from the pack too?"

Looking up at me, Leah and Seth both nodded their heads. "Yes, I guess it's kind of obvious, isn't it? Otherwise, the pack would not have attacked me. But back to the questions. The answer to the second one is that James and Sam decided to split up the Rez, but Sam, with the bigger pack, decided to give James about 15% of the Rez for his own pack."

With a loud scoff, Leah spoke up for the first time. "Yeah, but Sam wasn't too happy about it, was he?"

Nodding in affirmation, Seth looked back at us, and taking a deep breath he continued on, "and that pretty much answers your third question as well. Different turf, so neither pack was allowed to go on each others land, so to speak."

With a frown on my face, I couldn't help but catch on to his last words. "So to speak?" I questioned, looking and feeling rather sheepish.

"Yeah, they always found a way to sneak onto each other's land and do stuff, mostly sabotage. The reason why they attacked me and chased us off their land: I found out a terrible secret and master plan of theirs. I guess I wasn't meant to find out because Sam didn't tell me, but one of the others that I was on duty with told me, and I don't know how I did it, but I broke away from Sam's pack and instantly joined James' pack."

Feeling there was more to this, I spoke up into the silence. "What was it that you found out? It must have been a big secret for them to do something like this to you, Seth."

Nodding his head glumly, Seth responded. I noticed Leah grab his hand and squeeze it gently. "The thing about Sam is that he loves power and wants more of it. The Elders, they don't know that this has happened, and I am sure Sam will come up with some sort of excuse for our disappearance, but like I said, what he craves is power. I have never seen anything like it. It's like being in a movie. We were meant to protect the people, but I fear for him. He is dangerous. He wants to attack James' pack, and then he wants to come here and kill you; wipe you out. He—they hate you, and I think he might try something soon."

Too stunned to speak, I turned around to Esme and Carlisle, both of whom had stony, grave looks across their faces.

However, it was Carlisle who spoke up. "Thank you, Seth. I will let you be with your sister. Please take it easy. You are welcome here for however long is needed."

With a final nod, he turned towards me before heading out the room. "Esme, Bella, come with me, please, and can you get the rest of the family home? We need to have a family meeting. And it might be best to get the Denalis over as well."

An hour later and we were altogether. My two families: the Denalis and the Cullen's. I was currently sitting on Rosalie's lap, right next to my sister, who kept glancing at me in a weird way as if I would suddenly disappear at any moment.

Carlisle was speaking to the room with heavy eyes. "I regrettably have some information for us all about the recent events with the wolves of La Push. As you all know, they attacked Seth. The reason for this was to get his pack out of the way."

With a small frown, Alice spoke up to the group. "What do you mean, pack? Is there another pack, Carlisle?"

Sighing, he bobbed his head in response. "Yes, Alice, there is another pack on the reservation. It seems they share the land, however, they don't exactly like each other. But back to the main point."

With a clap of his hands, he blurred out of the room and was back again in seconds, holding a book. "The wolves of La Push, or more correctly Sam Uley's pack, want to attack us. It seems the boy is power hungry and deranged. Sadly, he wants to at least attempt to kill us after he disposed of Seth, or more correctly James's pack."

Carlisle started looking down at the ground and shaking his head sadly. Esme comforted her husband while angry snarls began through out the room.

Emmet stood up and pounded his fists together. "Damn mutts, I say we get rid of them!"

There was a murmur of agreement before a voice shouted, "NO!" It was Seth's.

The boy was standing in the doorway, supported by his sister. He edged forward. "No, you can't," he spluttered. "This is our fight!"

Hearing a loud scoff, I turned to Rosalie, arching an eyebrow at her. "What?" she asked sheepishly.

Shaking my head at her, I turned to Seth and offered him a small smile. "Seth, is this what you want? How will you fight them? Does your pack have enough members to even fight? I mean, this Sam sounds crazy, and by crazy I mean even crazier than what I first thought when I first met him. This is all just crazy."

Feeling a pair of arms wrap around my waist, I relaxed more into the embrace from Rose and let out a small sigh.

"Bella, we have enough people, but it ultimately comes down to James and his decision, which is why I need to go. I have to see him."

With a small growl, I stood up and shook my head. "You can't be serious here, Seth, you've not been up for three hours. You are still recovering. You're just a little boy, after all; you need to rest. Carlisle, please," I pleaded at him.

What is happening to me? Why do I feel this protective over someone I don't even know?

"Bella, this is my choice. This has to end before someone actually gets hurt, or worse, dies. This has to end now. I would just like to say thank you," he directed this towards Carlisle and Esme. "I am in your debt. You saved my life, so thank you. I'll see you guys later, if that's all right; I'll let you know what's going on."

Esme smiled kindly in turn, nodding her head. "Of course, dear, that would be appreciated."

With a final nod and smile, glanced in my direction, Seth and his sister Leah turned around and left the room.

"So, now we have two problems, then," Tanya spoke up as she started pacing the room with a very worried expression. "The wolves could attack at any moment, and if you combine this with the people after Lucia, things are starting to get very serious very fast. Carlisle, I think we may need a plan of action here, surely you agree?"

With a heavy sigh, Carlisle glanced over at Lucia, then briefly at myself, before nodding his head in agreement. "Yes, I do, but for now we must keep up our appearances. I have to go back to the hospital and the kids have to go back to school. It raises suspicion when we're all off. However, we shall sit down tomorrow and form a plan of some kind, hopefully to counter this. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to head to work, I was paged earlier."

With the rest of the room now heading out to do their own thing, I turned towards Lucia, curious. "What are you guys doing tomorrow? I gather that you can't come to school due to your age and stuff."

I could have burst out laughing at the look on her face. She looked like she had been bitch slapped. "My age? Really, Bella? I'm not that old, you know, and to answer your question, I am not going to school. Instead I am going to work in a small shop that me and Kate are going to run."

"The book shop?" I remembered.

"Of course!"

I giggled at this. It would of been books. We both loved them as kids and still did. Looking down at the watch on my wrist, courtesy of Rosalie, I saw the time.

6:45 PM. Shit, this day was super slow. Shifting around so that I was facing Rose, I kissed her on the lips. "Fancy a hunt?"

Grinning back at me, she kissed back with breathless force before nodding in agreement. "Lead the way, babe."

I looked at Kate and Lucia, giving an open invitation to them. "You guys coming too?"

"Yes."

We were on our way to school, riding in Rosalie's BMW with the windows rolled down. The wind whipped fast through my hair, which I hung loosely down my shoulders today. Pulling up into the car park, I exited the car and waited for Rose.

Holding my hand out to her, she took it with a loving smile. The instant she did, whispering broke out as we headed towards our first class.

"There's a new girl starting today!" Alice chirped out happily. She was practically skipping beside us.

"And?" Rosalie responded quite coldly.

"Well, we are going to be good friends. We all are, I can see it!" she cried happily before Rosalie snapped at her.

"Alice, we don't go chatting with humans! For god's sake, it could expose us, and what then? What would become of them, of us, if that happened, hmm? They are best left alone. They don't belong in our world!" After she finished snapping at Alice, Rosalie mumbled that she would see me later on before marching off towards her class.

"But you two have a lot in common, Rose!" Alice whisper-yelled after her with a sad look across her face.

First period was boring and slow. Nothing good happened, and I was just happy when it was over. Second period was no different. The only thing that made it all bearable was my family members, otherwise I would have snapped at all the staring and whispering.

Honestly, some of the stuff kids say is really sick. In fact, nothing happened until lunchtime. Alice was bouncing in her seat at our table with an ear splitting grin across her face.

"Will you calm down, Alice? You're going to draw attention to us," Edward said quietly, barely able to contain his smile.

I had to admit, Alice was a lot like a small child. She always wanted to get her own way and had the energy of one too.

My ears twitched at the sound of voices; they were coming from Jessica's table. "Look who it is, Natalie the fucking skank. Don't even bother coming over here. Go sit somewhere else, look, the trash can's over there."

The girl, Natalie, was whimpering to herself. The fear was emitting off of her, and I winced. Looking around the table, I saw that everyone had dark looks, especially Alice, who was glaring at Jessica's table as hard as she could.

"Yeah," someone continued. "Go fuck off new girl, you smell and look like shit. God, just having you standing there is putting me off of my food."

Natalie looked close to tears as she walked past their table. One of the girls, Lauren, who had just told her to fuck off, stuck her leg out and Natalie, unable to see it, tripped over it.

She fell to the ground; her food tray knocked out of her hands. Before I could even blink, I was up and out of my seat, marching towards the girl, who got up and ran away crying.

Turning my attention on Jessica and her crew at the table, I said, "you think that was funny, do you? Picking on a girl when there are five people to one? You best hope I don't see you outside at some point because if I do I swear I will beat the fucking shit out of every one of you. Got it? Now, when you next see Natalie, I want each and everyone of you to apologise to her, because if I find out that you haven't, there will be hell to pay."

Fuming, I made to walk out the cafeteria, leaving stunned faces everywhere, to find the girl, which was very difficult. I followed her scent to the bathroom where she stood crying looking into the mirror.

Upon seeing me, she spun around, a fearful look across her face; holding her hands up across her face in a defensive position as if someone was going to hit her. "Please don't hit me, I don't have any money, but please don't hurt me. Please."

Frowning, I took a step towards her, reaching out to her. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, please, I only want to help you, if you'll let me."

Shaking her head, she responded, disbelief written across her face, "H-help me? W-why would you want to help me?" Her voice sounded confused, but something intrigued me. The way she said 'help me', it almost sounded as if the word was foreign to her.

Before I could get another word out, Rosalie and Alice busted through the door, which caused Natalie to squeak and run away.

I made to go after her, but Rosalie put her hand on my shoulder, shaking her head. "We have to go home. Carlisle wants to hold a family meeting."

The timing of the ride home must have been a world record. Pulling up outside the house, we all exited and headed straight for the living room where everyone already was.

Heading for a loveseat along with Rosalie, who sat on my lap, we waited for Carlisle to stop pacing. "We have come up with a plan, so to speak. We will all continue on with our normal things to keep up appearances. However, Bella, due to your relationship with Seth, I would like you to go to see him and his pack. You may take someone with you if you like. Just find out what's happening at their end. But know this, we do have a plan in place, which will be discussed once we figure out what Seth and his pack have to say. Please be cautious, I know you get on well with him, you may even trust him, but the wolves of La Push have already showed that they are capable of treason. Just—be wary."

"On an even serious note: Lucia's captors. I fear they may be on their way, and I beg everyone here to not go alone outside. Always be prepared and always travel with someone, even if it is just hunting. We don't know what they are capable of."

With that, Carlisle excused himself. I spun Rosalie around, a thin smile across my face. I was going to ask her to come visit the wolves with me.

"NO!" she shouted.

I start laughing. I expected that, just not so quickly. I gave Rose my best pout before turning to Laura, Jasper, Alice and Edward.

"Will you guys come with me?" Looking at each other for affirmation, they nodded their heads in turn. Flicking my eyes to Rose, I pouted at her again. "Please, Rose, I need you. For me."

She growled at me with a small huff that was absolutely adorable, and so un-Rosalie. "Fine, let's go."

A|N: I don't own twilight.


	20. Mysterious figure

Seth's POV:

"Seth is too young to fight. Look at him! He can barley stand as it is. I almost lost my brother once, it's not going to happen again, James," my sister, Leah, snapped.

Both James and Leah had been going on at each other since we got here.

The pack was relieved and happy to see me, and after suggesting to James my proposal: which was to fight Sam and his pack, if only to end it once and for all, James agreed it was a good idea.

He also admitted he realised that it was the only way to end it, despite his reluctance and our limited sources. Because of our new found plan, outrage had bubbled up in Leah and so the arguing had began.

"There's not enough people to fight Sam and his pack, James. We can't afford to lose our people."

James scoffed and rolled his eyes. "There are more than enough, too many in fact. Too young. And not that you should be questioning the Alpha, Leah, but I have a plan in place. No one will get hurt, except either me, or Sam. This doesn't have to concern our pack, or his because it is between us. However, Sam will bring his pack and so I have to bring mine: to show my strength."

Now it was Leah's turn to scoff. In all honesty, this was starting to get on my nerves. Without thinking, I jumped in between them, "Leah, James, stop. Look, there's no point in arguing over this. James has clearly made up his mind and he is our Alpha: we listen to him. So we get behind him in this decision, he knows what is good for this pack."

Growling, Leah stomped away in a huff and walked over to her tent that both her and Claire had set up a few hours ago. She stepped inside and yanked the zip closed with a huff.

"So, what now?" I asked James.

"Well, first: we talk to the vampires that just showed up." He pointed behind me.

Whipping my head around, I saw six of the Cullen's walking towards us, slowly. Why was they walking at a human pace? The pretence was absurd.

"Secondly: once we have dealt with them, then we make our move on Sam. And Seth," James paused and placed his hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn around and face him again. "It might get ugly."

Bella POV:

"God, this place stinks. Why did I decide to come here again?" Rosalie groaned next to me, pinching the bridge of her nose.

True, we had just arrived at Seth's pack camp in the mountain, and yes, it did smell a lot. But god, why did she have to be so childish about these situations when they were serious things that had a grip on people's lives?

I gave her a small nudge in the ribs, to which she scowled at. "Rose, you came because I asked you too. Now stop being a baby. I don't hear anyone else moaning or complaining."

With a small giggle right next to me, Alice shouted at Rose. "YEAH, STOP BEING A BABY ROSEY!"

I yelped as I jammed my fingers in my ears. "Yeah, uh, Alice, do you mind not shouting right in my fucking ear, cause it hurt. Thanks," I muttered dryly.

Rosalie smirked while Alice and the rest of our small group laughed openly. We came to a stop beside Seth. I gave him a warm smile to which he returned happily.

"Hey guys. I guess you overheard us talking?" He asked quietly.

"Not much." I shrugged.

Suddenly, Seth's eyes slipped from mine and stared over at Laura, who stood a little ways back from me. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity and turned to look at Laura.

I was surprised to find that she was staring right back at him with the same look across her features. My mouth opened slowly, wondering what was happening when suddenly, Seth began to convulse.

I gasped, standing back as his body threw itself forward as if someone had shoved into him from the behind and then he collapsed to his knees. My eyes widened in surprise, watching his body shake.

He began to whimper soon after and my eyes raked the open space for a shapeshifter to tell me what was happening. When no one seemed to be helping, I took a small step forward.

I slowly reached out my hand, stretching my pale fingers towards him. "Seth, what's wron-"

"NO! Don't touch him! He may shift." James held out his hand to stop me, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"I don't believe it," he whispered while looking back and forth between the shaking Seth and the staring Laura.

"What is going on?" Rosalie snapped at James, who looked at her with his mouth unattractively agape.

"I believe Seth has just imprinted on Laura."

My mouth flopped open bigger than James's. "What?! But... shifters can't imprint on vampires! They hate us..."

James began to speak as Seth walked up to Laura slowly with eyes blown wide open.

"Neither did I. But we should leave them be. Seth is back in control. I'll tell you about the plan while they get to know each other."

With a small nod and a last look at the love struck Laura and Seth, we followed James into a small tent. Taking a look around, it reminded me of a very small room with a sleeping bag on the floor and a small table stood on the left hand side.

Books and paper covered the table and some even littered the floor. We came to a stop just beside it with James bending and picking up a piece of paper. He ran his free hand through his hair and sighed.

"As I am sure you no doubt heard, we-I, am planning to confront Sam and challenge him, and him alone. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, because of me or because of this. I only plan to have them surrounding me."

Turning to look at us, he handed out the piece of paper to Edward, who took it with a very serious look across his face. "You should get that to Carlisle, it may be of some help."

Edward spoke low to me, despite everyone being able to hear with their supernatural hearing. "I'm going to head back, give this to Carlisle. I have no doubt he will explain everything when you guys get back."

Before I even had the chance to say, or ask what the hell was going on, he was gone.

"God damn. Now you listen here, you little mutt, what the hell was that all about?" Rosalie snarled as she took a threatening step forward.

"I'm sure he'll tell you when you get back home."

Grabbing Rosalie's hand, I shot her a glare. She turned to me and gaped.

"Bella, you can't be serious? Don't you know what's going to happen now?!" She threw hands up in the air.

I'd never really seen Rosalie this upset before. "Rose, what's going on?"

I was confused as to why she was acting like this. "Now that Laura and that thing are mates, they'll want our help if they fight the other pack."

Before I had a chance to react, James spoke up, glaring at Rosalie. I snarled at him low in my throat as a warning. She was mine.

"Now listen here, we haven't done anything to you. So why don't you show us some respect here? I have already made it perfectly clear that I don't want MY people fighting. This is just between me and Sam."

With a scoff and roll of her eyes, Rosalie turned away, muttering a "whatever".

"Look, maybe we should be getting back. We will have to speak to Car-

"JAMES THEIR HERE!" A girl shouted, followed a moment later with her running into the tent.

Whipping my face away from the new person, I took in the sight of James. He looked nervous, but ready. Growling to himself, he marched past me with a viscous look on his face.

"Lisa, go and get the others and make sure they are safe; protect them at all costs."

With a speed faster than a bullet, I blurred outside, following right behind James, who stopped in front of a group of men, both of which I recognised instantly. Sam and Jacob, the two I had run into the first time I had met Seth.

With Alice, Rosalie and Jasper standing at my side, we were still minus Laura. No doubt she would be here shortly. Looking between the three men, it become a stand off.

Silence stretched thin over all us but it was Jacob who spoke up first. Underlining anger burned in his eyes as he looked not at James but at us instead. "What are they doing here? Fuck me, James. I knew you were low, but I didn't think you were that low. Imagine being with the enemy."

He spat at the ground beside James, who looked back at him with a cool and calm expression. "Their not the enemy here Jacob and you know it. You have been lied to by Sam, and brainwashed by him. You're nothing more than a puppet," he spoke into the small clearing where they stood.

Jacob started shaking instantly and instinctively I made to step forward, but a hand grabbed hold of my arm. Turning around, I shot a glare at Rosalie who shook her head before whispering, "remember this is between them, Bella."

With a frown, I turned back around and watched. Sam spoke up, "Jacob, stop it. This is between me and him."

There was an intake of breathe from James, who had shock splashed across his face. "So you came all this way to fight me? That's not the usual cowardly act I expected from yourself. You've surprised me here Sam."

An automatic smug smirk spread across Sam's face as he gently put his hand on Jacobs shoulder, before whispering something to him. The man nodded before disappearing back the way they came.

I didn't like the look of this, at all. With Jacob gone, it left just James and Sam, both of whom had murder etched across their face.

"Well then, its just you and me, unless your bloodsucker friends are going to help you out. They might need to once I'm done with you," Sam growled out, now circling James who was doing the same thing.

"No, they won't be helping me, at all. You know Sam, I find it very suspicious that Jacob has left with your very small, reduced pack. Planning an ambush are we?"

Sam's face shot up in a twisted smirk. "Maybe. But nothing will happen until I am done with you."

James shot up a challenging eyebrow. "Is that so?"

With a nod, Sam kept his smirk. James heaved a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his untidy hair. "Have it your way then."

Almost instantly, they both exploded into their wolf form and began to charge at each other with mouths wide open. They snapped at each other and the sound of their teeth clattered against each other.

Reluctantly taking a step backwards to avoid collision as the two drew near us in a tussle, I watched almost in awe as James, the smaller of the two wolves, held his own against Sam, who was bigger than him.

With a roar, Sam smashed his body into James with a blow to the legs which caused James lose his balance. As a result Sam was able to capitalize on this as he sank his teeth into the back of James leg.

I gasped as James let out a whimper of pain and moved his head around to fight Sam off of his back. James did enough to throw him off and turned around at a run towards Sam.

With speed like lightening, it was his turn to connect with Sam. James threw out his claws into the sides of Sam, who wailed out in pain and started thrashing madly, trying his best to throw off James.

James was trying his hardest to grab hold of Sam's neck with his teeth.  
>He dug his claws deeper into the fur of Sam who began to slow down his thrashing. James kept hold of him for a few moments longer.<p>

For a soundless moment the clearing was quiet, devoid of the sounds of snarling, ripping fur and tearing flesh before a loud thud signalled that Sam had fallen to the floor, with James on top of him, snarling viscously.

James then made a move for the neck of Sam. However, he never bit down as hard as the watching crowd was expecting. It was more or less a nip before he jumped off of Sam and snarled towards him.

Sam, who was covered in his own blood due to the deep gashes where James had his claws imbedded into him, bowed his head slightly. Almost in submission?

With another snarl, James turned towards the forest and disappeared, only to return moments later fully clothed and in human form. He took a light jog towards Sam who now was laying on the floor, covered in blood and naked.

"P-please d-don't kill me... Emily..." Sam gasped.

James looked towards us then back towards Sam. "I'm not going to kill you Sam. But the Rez is my mine now, and once the Elders find out what you tried to do, you will be banished from the Rez. Both you and Emily."

Bowing his head slightly, Sam made to stand, up his wounds now healed. He held his side before turning to look out into the forest. "What of the pack?"

James straightened his back like he had won something. Was he proud?

"Some will stay and some will not. The Elders will decide what happens to them."

With loud rustling coming from the left, I turned my head to see James's pack coming out into the clearing, with Seth leading the way, holding Laura's hand.

I couldn't repress the small smile that spread across my face. It was a weird sight: a vampire and werewolf. I wondered how they smelled to each other. But they looked adorably cute together.

I wasn't sure how it was going to work with Seth being much younger than Laura and the differences between vampire covens and the pack but I hoped they pulled through.

"James, what happened?" Seth demanded, marching towards our group.

He briefly looked towards Sam, who was still holding his side.

"Sam here, came to fight me, and lost," James replied causally while Sam let out a small growl.

"So what happens now?" Seth said just as casually.

James shrugged his shoulders. "We bring Sam to the Elders and let them decide his fate."

Nodding his head in response, Seth moved over to us. "So," he said quietly, almost awkwardly.

"So?" I replied.

I was rather confused by his sudden behaviour: shifting his feet and looking down at the ground sheepishly. Why was he acting so strange?

When it clicked I couldn't hold in my laughter as I grabbed hold of Rosalie to stable myself. "Seth are you worried about the reaction your going to get from us?" I barley made out the words as I choked on my own laughter. "Seth, everyone will be fine with it, I promise and more to the point, you're going to have her sisters to speak to. That'll be a fun conversation that I don't want to miss."

Felling a slap on my shoulder, I looked up to see Laura stare at me with expectant eyes. She too wore a smile across her face. "Hey! Leave him alone, Bella. I don't want my mate to be scared of meeting my sisters."

Rolling my eyes, I shot her a grin before turning to the rest of group. "Do you guys want to go back? Carlisle will need to know what happened here."

Nodding their heads in agreement, Alice spoke up. "Laura, are you coming with us? Or would you like to stay here and make puppy love?"

Laura's face was positively hilarious. For the first time, she actually looked awkward.

"Aw, what's the matter, Laura? You're not thinking about the age gap between you guys are 'ya? Because you know Seth may be young, but I bet he is great in the sack. If you know what I mean?"

We all burst out laughing collectively at Seth's now red face. Laura had her face between her hands. "I think I'm going to stay here a bit longer," she groaned through her hands, which made us all chuckle.

"Right, no worries. Have a great time playing minor baseball with Seth," I said before taking off, laughing.

I heard Laura shout a 'fuck you' behind me. Racing through the forest with Rosalie, Alice and Jasper at my side, made me smile and wish that I had spent more time with them, plus the rest of family except for just Rose.

I had hardly spent time with anyone and with everything going on, it might be a good idea to start spending some time with them. Too focused on my own thoughts, I didn't see Emmett or Kate up ahead, with wild smirks across their face.

Indeed it was too late because by the time I realised that they were there, I was being pelted with mud bombs. We were not too far from the house. With a growl, I sped up before I realised that I was being chased.

Not just by Emmett and Kate who were howling with laughter but by Rosalie, my own mate who had turned against me, with Alice and Jasper too. OH HELL NO!

Without thinking, I made a bee line straight for the house. They wouldn't dare pelt me inside the house because Esme would kill them for it. Ignoring the laughter behind me and beside me, I made to step it up a gear.

With the house in my sights however, a mud ball hit me straight in the face which sparked more outrageous laughter from the five of them. Those sons of bitches! Taking a leaping jump, I made it into the house.

Just as I landed, I was knocked straight on my ass after colliding into Esme who had her hands on her hips and was wearing a disapproving look across her face.

She pursed her lips as she stared out at the five vampires outside, still laughing from their ambush. "Kids, that's not very nice! You should apologise right now to Bella!"

I could hardly have a smugger smile right then as I turned to them. "Mom, you're no fun!" Emmett whined.

"Yeah, think fast, Esme!" Kate shouted before throwing a mud ball straight at Esme.

The ball landed right on her shirt and splattered all over her face. The silence was so much that I could hear a pin drop.

"Oh shit!" Emmett shouted.

Oh shit was right. Esme looked pissed.

"Well, that was uncalled for, but I guess you think its fair to have five against one, do you?" Esme snarled at them.

I pulled myself off of the ground and looked out at the now five whimpering vampires before turning to look at Esme, a small smirk spreading across her face.

"Well, why don't we even the odds. What do you say Bella?" she asked, staring at me.

Before I had a chance to say anything, Tanya, Edward, Danielle and Lucia came through to stand at the front door. Wicked smiles lay across their lips and I couldn't help but smile as I turned around to the now retreating vampires.

Oh yeah, they were going to pay. Emmett was the furthest, almost at the tree line. "Yeah well, you see, the thing is... Scatter!" Emmett shouted at the top of his voice and almost at the same time, the five of them broke apart.

Emmett and Rose went one way, Alice and Jasper went the other way and Kate ran all by herself in the other direction. I took off after Rose and Emmett, with Esme at my side.

A wicked grin was plastered across her face as she scooped a ball of mud into her hands. Tanya and Danielle went after Alice and Jasper, while Edward and Lucia went after Kate.

Now it was my turn to laugh as I scooped a mud ball into my hand. It didn't take long to catch up with Emmett and Rosalie, who were waiting for us and hiding behind the trees.

That moment they saw us, they began to launch mud balls at us. We quickly took for cover behind tree's.

"Dude, you're 'gonna get a can of ass whoop. Emmett and Rosalie style!"  
>Emmet shouted behind his cover.<p>

Looking to Esme, she pointed towards the tree before climbing it. Realising her plan, I decided to poke my head from behind my cover and provide distraction.

I lobbed a ball towards Rosalie, only it hit her shoe and not her face. She scowled and I almost laughed as she grumbled about the shoe. With a snapping twig, Emmett and Rosalie must have looked because a moment later Rosalie shouted, "she's in the tree's! Quick, Em, this way!"

Laughing, I ran after them with Esme falling down right beside, me we took off and came to a stop towards a lake. This was where we found Emmett and Rosalie stood shoulder, to shoulder as they realised there was no escape.

This was it: the final showdown and I had a plan in place that would most likely piss both Rose and Emmett off. Turning my head, I tried to contact Esme through my eyes. Thankfully, she understood exactly what my plan was and smirked.

The pair raised their eyebrows at us challenging. "Come on them mom, Bella, do your worst."

Emmett smirked while Rosalie bent down to scoop up more mud.

"Oh we will do our worst. Now, Bella!" Esme said.

At the same time, we both took off running at them. I took Rosalie while Esme took Emmett. Clearly this had the effect we both intended because they stood there, dumb stuck while we charged at them.

Rosalie picked up the fastest and started running while Emmett just stood there and looked behind him for somewhere to run before turning around and coming face to face with Esme.

"Aw, dude, come on!" He cried as Esme pushed him into the lake.

Grinning, I caught up to Rose who tried to get on the other side of me. Knowing that the only way she was going in the lake was with me with her, I dived at here and pushed her into the water.

I tightened my arms around her waist as we both went toppling into the water. When we surfaced, we both started laughing as did Esme who held out her hand while a grumbling Emmet muttered, "you didn't offer your hand to me mom!"

Esme shouted over her shoulder, "well that's because you laughed at me while I was getting hit with a mud bomb!"

Grabbing Esme's hand, I smiled appreciatively while holding Rose's hand. "We should get home."

"Yeah... but, man! That was fun. I didn't know you had it in you, Esme. Maybe we should pelt you more often with mud bombs," Emmett laughed as we began walking towards the house

"Don't even think about it," she growled playfully.

We were still laughing by the time we reached the house. Everyone was outside, laughing themselves. Even Carlisle who I'd never heard laugh.

He sped over to Esme and chuckled. "It seems everyone has had a good time?"

We all nodded our heads and began laughing again.

Carlisle grinned while clasping his hands together. "Well then, I'm sure we have much to talk about. How did the meeting go with wolves?"

Stepping forward I was about to answer him when a scent hit my nose: sickly sweet and it wasn't one that I was familiar with. Whipping my head around to the left, I stared into the tree line as a person stepped out. fully clothed in black and with a hood up that covered the face.

The mysterious figure made it's way over to us before stopping a few yards away. I didn't feel scared or even threatened in the slightest as there was more of us than this one person.

The figure held up a hand almost in a 'I don't come to cause trouble' kind of way and then spoke.

The voice was deep rough and sounded a lot like the person had a sore throat. "I have come to warn you that they will be here soon, for the girl. You have little over a week to prepare. There will be newborns, hybrids, vampires and werewolves. This is a fight that I fear you certainly cannot win."

I made a point to look a Lucia who had fear on her face. Kate looked upset too, but held up her hands as she spoke, "who are you? And why don't you think we can win? We will keep Lucia safe."

There was a small chuckle from the cloaked character. "Yes, I know you will do anything to keep her safe, even if that means sacrificing yourself, or the one's you love most. However, I am nothing more than a messenger, here to give you time and warning. There is time to prepare, if you start now. I do not believe you will win, because this a fight where you are outnumbered, greatly. However, if you prepare right, you may yet stand a chance."

There was a ghostly silence before he spoke up again, "many will perish in this fight, especially your allies. You must be careful who you choose to be on your side. War is coming to you, be ready for it."

With that, the mysterious figure disappeared back into the forest, leaving all of us too stunned to speak. Looking at Lucia and Tanya, there was genuine fear in my eyes as I turned to Rose. "What now?" I whispered.

I hoped someone would answer me. It was Jasper who spoke up into the silence. "We form a plan."


	21. Getting some help

"I feel like this could cause more harm than good though, Jasper. Lucia and the others would be left almost defenceless."

We were gathered around in the living room, having a discussion about what to do next and what our game plan would be while Jasper stood on the side lines.

Well, that was until he stepped up, halting all conversations and gave us his proposal. This was to send pretty much all of us away to get some help.

Irina argued that it wasn't the best idea. "I am just saying that this can't be the only plan we can come up with, surely?" She added to her earlier statement.

With a small huff, Jasper looked down at the ground then over to me. "What's your take on this Bella? Lucia is your sister. You should have a right to decide."

Frowning, I took a look at my sister, who was staring right back at me. Did I want to lose her again? Hell no. I would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

Straightening up from my position in Rosalie's lap, I spoke softly almost too softly. "I will not let anything happen to my sister, again. I agree with Jasper's plan. It's the best one that anyone of us could come up with."

Looking ahead into Lucia's eyes, I softly murmured, "I'm ready to do whatever it takes. Unless anyone else can come up with a better plan, I say we move out as soon as possible. We only have a week here."

There was a murmur of agreement in the air. Feeling slightly nervous, I squirmed in Rosalie's lap which was unusual because I could sit still for hours, nerves or not.

This situation must have been getting to me more than I believed it was. Her smooth, marble arms tightened around me and I couldn't help but relax into the embrace and let my mind wander.

Maybe if I think hard enough, I can escape from all this bullshit.  
>However, a loud bang made me open my eyes to see a very upset Irina march out the room, followed closely by Sarah.<p>

With a small cough, Carlisle stood up and looked around room. "Well then, it seems it is settled. We will break up in to groups to find people willing to come to our aid. Jasper, I assume you have ideas as to where to go?" He asked, staring at him expectantly.

With a small smile, Jasper stood up and addressed us. "Yes, I do. I already have it roughly planned out. Myself, Alice, Emmett and Catlin will go to brazil, while Amanda, Edward, Sarah and Irina- if they are willing, that is- will go to the UK and Bella, Rosalie, Tanya and Danielle will stay here; travel around the states. The rest of us will stay here too and make sure Lucia is protected. I also suggest speaking to Laura and trying to get the wolves in on this as well. Lastly, I feel like we should prepare, right now. Like Bella has already stated, we have a week to get as much help as we can, so we should all leave as soon as possible."

Turning around in Rosalie's lap, I placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Road trip babe. You know what that means, right?" I whispered, only half meaning it.

I was not going to get distracted in any way, not even by my beautiful mate. We were going there for a reason: to help my sister.

Leaning in for another kiss, I murmured against her lips, "Will you pack our stuff, please? I want to speak to Lucia."

Pulling away, she nodded her head before she lifted me up off her lap then blurred up stairs. Slowly, our family began to sweep out of the room.

I made my way towards Lucia, a smile across my face. "Hey," I said quietly, before pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey," she whispered back.

"How you holding up?" My voice cracked a little.

"I'm fine, Bella. Don't go worrying about me."

Pulling out of the hug, I looked at her in the eyes, mine full of worry. "What do you mean? How can I not worry about you? God, we've barley spent time together since you've been back. This is just so frustrating and fucking unfair. You're my sister and I love you. I just don't want to lose you again is all. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

Sighing breathily, she pulled me back into her and whispered into my ear, "I know you would Bella. I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

With a soft growl, I gripped her tighter. "No one is going to get hurt and especially not because of you. We will all be fine, do you hear me?"

Nodding her head, she murmured softly, "I love you."

As we stayed locked into the hug, I couldn't help but wonder if this was all some sort of set up. I knew it crossed everyone's mind that we were taking the advice and words of a complete stranger, who disappeared as fast as he came.

Would this be the last time I saw my sister? My mate? My family. Was we all walking to our deaths?

Closing my eyes tight, I mumbled a "love you," back before pulling away.

We both smiled at each other before I turned and headed towards the stairs where Rosalie was currently dragging down a couple of suitcases, full of our stuff.

"Do you mind and giving a hand babe?"

I knew she could handle it herself and was trying to provide me a distraction to take my mind of my worry and my sister. I smiled at her and gratefully took a suitcase.

I knew she didn't want me to know she was looking out for me because she was worried I would feel babied so she had pulled a screwed up scowl on her face, as if she couldn't be bothered to carry the suitcases and was annoyed I had asked her in the first place. I loved her so much.

I played along, repressing a smile. "Well, you look like you're doing fine on your own. But if you want to be such a wimp."

I shrugged my shoulders I tightened my grip on the handle unnecessarily and moved with vampric speed into the garage and dropping it there before blurring back to the stairs.

"Rose, I imagine we will be taking the Audi Q3?"I questioned.

It made sense that we would because Tanya and Danielle were coming as well.

"Yep, we sure are. Do me a favour and dump these bags in the trunk, please," she grunted while throwing a couple of school bags at me.

"Uh, Rose, you sure there will be enough room for all our stuff, plus Tanya's and Danielle's?" I asked as she started climbing the stairs again.

"Yeah I made some improvements to the boot a few days ago so it should be fine," she informed me before vanishing up the stairs.

I swept up the bags, balancing them all in my arms I turned around to move to the garage. I knew my sister was stood behind me before I turned. A rather amused smile was across her face.

I scowled. "What, finding something funny are we?" I snapped playfully.

Personally I didn't see what was so funny about this situation I was in. Maybe it was being used in bag duty. Speeding back into the garage, I moved over to the Audi and popped the hood.

Was it weird that all the car doors were always unlocked in this house? Maybe not. We were vampires after all. No one would get away with trying to steal from us. Dumping the bag neatly into the Audi, I slammed the boot closed.

Rosalie wasn't lying. There was more than enough room for us. Moving back over to the stairs where Lucia still stood patiently, talking away to Rosalie who had her back turned to me, I walked up behind Rose and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Great job on the boot by the way," I whispered into her ear, making sure to nip her ear lobe.

She shuddered as I hit her sensitive spot. "Thank you. Are we ready to go?" She asked, spinning around so she was face to face with me.

Peering around her, I frowned at my sister. I didn't want to leave her. "It's fine, Bella. Go. We all have a job to do now. I'll still be here when you get back, I promise."

Nodding my head at her, I offered a small smile before muttering a "stay safe" and heading deeper into the garage.

"Hey Rose, are we going to pick up Tanya and Danielle… or?" I asked.

Suddenly, a voice outside answered my question. "No need, Bella. We're already here and our stuff is already in the boot," Tanya's voice echoed from outside.

When did they do that? I was in here only a couple of minutes ago... shaking my head, I hopped into the car with Rose, who was driving. I slammed the door shut with Tanya and Danielle mimicking my movements.

We were all in as Rose started the car. "Be safe guys. Lucia, I love you!" I called as we made our way out of the garage.

I heard a few 'be safe' back and Lucia's 'love you, be safe.' Turning around so I was staring into the back seat, I smiled at Tanya and Danielle. With everything happening, it was good to get to spend some time with them.

Even if it was on an occasion like this. Clasping her hands together, Danielle let out an excited squeal. "Road trip guys! This is going to be so much fun. So, where to first Rosalie?"

Danielle started jumping and down in the back seat which caused me to smile. She was like a taller Alice. So much like a child not that she would probably not appreciate me slagging her about her height.

"I was thinking we should stick to places where we actually know people. Because no offence, but I just don't see the guys getting random vampires to help the cause of a complete stranger," Rosalie said before shrugging her shoulders.

"I know people: a group of three. Two guys and a girl. They stay in North Dakota. I also know one more person who I think will be willing to help us out. A nomad who stays in Washington most of the time. We'll leave that one until last. What about you guys?"

I shrugged at Rosalie. I didn't really know many people aside from the Cullen's and the Denali's, and of course Sarah, Danielle and Laura. There was Declan but I didn't know his current location. It had been so many years.

Danielle seemed to be the same as me because it was Tanya who spoke up. "I know a few people as well, Rosalie. Most likely Irina will give some of them a call as they stay more or less far away. I do know a handful of people who may help us out though. A group of three: they stay in the states, a man named Steven who we came across while he was hunting with his wife Rachael. Them two live in Nebraska and then another girl: Dionne, she stays in Texas. However, I really doubt we will need to trek around. I will give them a call myself and speak to them. Ir would be much easier this way and it cuts time down on how long we are going to be at certain places."

Raising an eyebrow at Tanya, I questioned the last choice of vampire mentally. Texas, really?

"Isn't it too hot in Texas for a vampire. I'm surprised she hasn't been exposed."

Rosalie grinned at me. "You know that Jasper was from there right? So I think the woman would be fine. But seriously, I think we should make this a very quick trip. I'm thinking of a rough plan: four days to get some help. They'll be crowded cities and long miles we got to keep our shit together."

She paused as she took a turning. "There will be nine vampires we need to seek out, so I'm thinking North Dakota is the first place to go. It's the closest and we'll be there shortly. Especially at this time of night."

Rose nodded to the radio where it stated the time: 1:50 AM.

Tanya let out a murmur of agreement, "yeah, you're right Rosalie. We should get there in no time."

Driving from Washington to North Dakota was a lot of fun. Jokes were told, songs were sang with me and Rosalie doing a duet against Tanya and Danielle. It was nice and a good change.

For once, I couldn't deny that it took all our minds off of the current state of things. As the sun began to break out, I stared out of the window. I couldn't help but moan. It was raining in partnership with the day break.

Rosalie took a left and pulled into a nice little alleyway. Its cobbled road made the car bounce up and down. Taking another left, Rosalie sped up and suddenly we were making our way down a long road.

At the end of the road, I could see a house. It was there all by itself, alone and secluded. It felt kind of odd to me that a single long road went down this way to a single house that looked so old I would have said it had been standing for generations.

With the road coming to an end, Rosalie stopped the car in a neat driveway. There was as single car that was parked next to us. The car itself looked old and like it was getting worked on which made me wonder just how old these people were.

Too focused on my thoughts, I was delayed in seeing three people blur outside the house. Un-clipping my seat belt, I felt a hand grasp my own. I snapped my head around to see Rose look at me with a small smile across her face.

"Come on," she said softly, before letting go of my hand and opening the door.

Curiously, I watched as Rosalie walked up to the vampires, all of whom looked confused and wary. Trying to size them up, I took in their appearance and catalogued everything about them.

There was the girl Rosalie mentioned, she had brownish hair, red eyes and a slim body with a devilish smile across her lips. The other two were both guys who looked very alike. Biological brothers?

They both had black hair that ended just at their shoulders with red eyes and muscles that could rival Emmett's. It seemed that my guess was not at all wrong: these vampires were old.

Opening the car door, I followed behind Tanya and Danielle who stood beside Rosalie before introducing themselves. The woman was called Marsha and the men were called Dave and John. I had also guessed them correctly: they were brothers.

Taking hold of Rosalie's hand, I watched them speak to each other with fascination. "So this girl, you want us to help you protect, she is Bella's sister?" Dave said while folding his arms across his chest

"Yes, that's right. Look, I know I have no right in coming to you for help. Hell, we haven't spoken to each other in years but I-we, are desperate here. We need all the help we can get and I trust you guys. So please," Rosalie asked boldly, confident.

Unfolding his arms, the man turned away before Marsha stepped in, anger on her face. "Look, Rosalie, we can't just walk away from our life that we've built here to help yourself or these people. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but they are strangers. Why should we help you? What's the benefit for us? Because I see nothing but cons."

Taking a step back, Rose mimicked her actions, a scowl replacing her face. "What's the benefit you ask? Well Marsh, I'll tell you straight. There are no real benefits here, other than helping an innocent girl out who is being hunted down by sick vampires and all other kinds of woo-woo shit. They want her for who knows what! Look, if you help us, you will be standing up against the Volturi. We're most confident their involved in this, some way or the other."

Almost at once, the three of them jumped up, spinning around with their eyes black and lips turned up. With a hiss, Marsha spoke up, "the Volturi are involved in someway? Rosalie, you will say no more! We'll help out in anyway. However, we will need to know full details here."

Stepping forward, Tanya spoke out to them. "There isn't much time. If you would be willing to head back to our home in Forks, everything will be explained there, in full detail. You will know as much as you want too. I do hope you understand, you are not the only people who we want to join our cause."

Stepping back, she re-took Danielle's hand with a small bow of her head.

I turned towards Rosalie, holding out my hand to take hers.

"Forks, you say? We will see you there then. And Bella, don't worry. We will do our best to keep your sister safe. Goodbye."

With a last nod of her head, the trio disappeared into the house and closed the door.

I turned to face Rosalie. "Well that was quick. I don't even know why they agreed. They were so against it. Anyway, that's three people that's joined our cause now and Tanya, you said you will give your contacts a call?"

I entered the car and started buckling up as I waited for her to reply.

"Come on guys, I need something here. What's going on?" I whined like a little child, making sure to pout as an added effect and knowing how Rose couldn't resist it.

With a loud huff, Rose slammed the door closed. "Look, there is something else at play here Bella. Me and Tanya have our suspicions about certain things. Something feels out of place. I mean, think about it. There was a cloaked figure who came out of no where to give us some advice, a tip if you will. Then he just vanished like that."

She enthused with a snap of her fingers. "I mean: who is he? Where did he come from?"

Shifting in my seat, I opened my mouth before closing it again because Tanya spoke as Rose started the engine.

"Bella, surely you find it a bit odd as well. I've been around for a long time and even I was confused by this thing that showed up. On top of that, me and Rose both agreed that we should hunt this person down and demand an answer from him. We need to know, Bella, it may be of use to us. Before you say anything, I can guarantee that everyone I phone will aid the cause. That much I promise."

Looking to Rose, then to Tanya, I was now positive I would burst with questions but one in particular had me on the edge of my seat. "I'm guessing you have a plan? And just when the hell did you guys have time to speak about this? AND, you must know where this person is living, to be thinking about it this much. Am I right?" I directed it towards both of them.

"Yes, Bella, you're right. We know where this person lives and we have only spoken through text message. Of course we have a plan," Tanya answered.

I raised my eyebrow. "You sound unsure."

Rosalie looked rather sheepish as she stared out of the car window, her eyes focused solely on the road. "Yeah well, our plan was pretty much walk in, talk to him, find out what he knows and see if it can help us in anyway. I know it doesn't sound great, Bella, but its the best plan we have."

I nodded my head and sat in silence, wondering how we had even got on to this conversation. One minute we were hunting down people to help and now we were going in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going then?" I all but shouted, startling Danielle which caused her to let out a surprised growl.

"We're going to Wisconsin."

"I have to ask: how exactly do you know where this man is hiding? You said it yourself: he came as fast as he went."

Tanya answered. "I had someone follow him and before you ask any more questions, Bella, I will not tell you who. I'm sorry, but it was a dear old friend of mine, doing me a favour."

With a small grumble, I crossed my arms across my chest. This was not how it's meant to be. I mean, sure, I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't a little curious as to who that guy was.

But I never really bothered about it until now. Looking out the window, I spoke lowly to Rosalie, not wanting to disturb Danielle and Tanya who both had curled against each other. Not that they couldn't hear every word anyway.

"How long will it take for us to get to where we need to go?"

"About nine hours, love."

With a heavy groan, I popped the glove department and picked up the head phones that were lying in there. If it was going to be a long trip, I may as well listen to some music to pass the time.

Putting them in my ears, I closed my eyes and leant against the window.

Eight hours later.

Feeling a nudge on my shoulder, I opened my eyes and took out the head phones. I couldn't help but glare a little at Rose. I was enjoying listening to my music.

"What's up?"

"We're nearly there, Bella."

"What, Wisconsin?"

We couldn't be there already could we? With a small laugh, Rose shook her head. "No, Wisconsin, we're already in. I mean where he's staying."

Frowning, I pulled the headphone out of my phone before jamming them back into the glove department just as the car was getting slower. Finally, the car stopped just outside of an old forest where the leaves looked dead on the trees.

I opened my door without waiting for Rose or Tanya to say anything, already guessing that this was as far as we were going in the car.

"Right, Bella, we're going to need to use your gift. We need you to change us into humans so we don't scare him away. And no, before you ask, a lot of human backpackers roam these woods so therefore there should not be anything that could spike suspicion," Tanya stated while getting out the car.

With a small nod, I closed my eyes and concentrated before opening them again and smiling. Tanya, Danielle and Rosalie all looked human and it was kind of bizarre.

Staring at my own hands, I knew I looked human too. "Shall we be off then? I'm assuming you know the way." I directed my question towards Tanya, who started walking away from the car and upwards on a hill.

"This way."

Following after her, we began to make our way East. We walked for ten minutes before we came to a stop. Crouching down beside a tree, we looked down upon a sight I had seen once before.

But that was on a more different matter. There was a house, a small cottage more accurately, that stood at the bottom of the hill. The building had clearly been damaged.

Tanya began to make her way down the hill and Danielle swiftly followed behind her. Looking to Rose, I could see a look that I couldn't explain that she wore across her features.

Squeezing her shoulder, I began to make my way down the hill, following the footsteps of Tanya and Danielle.

"Bella, shh," Tanya snapped at me as we came to the front of the building.

The windows were smashed in the house, looked almost deserted and there was an odd noise coming from inside the building. Stepping to the front of the building, the door was hanging off its hinges.

Walking forward slowly, following behind Tanya, we entered the cottage. The instant we stepped foot inside the building, a smell hit my nose and it made my undead stomach churn.

The cottage was small: only three rooms were visible and only one room had the odd noise coming from it. Making our way towards the source of the noise, Tanya pushed the door open quietly.

A gasp left her mouth and she disappeared from view. Startled and curious, I blurred into the room after her and was met was a sad sight. Lying on the floor of the room, was a man.

A man who had the same clothes on as the one who had visited us and gave us our warning. His face was visible and was covered with cracks paired with a deep purple mark that marred his cheek.

I knew exactly what that was. A werewolf bite. Clearly, someone else had been hunting this man down as well. Rosalie arms wrapped themselves around my waist in a very protectively way. Was she scared that I might get hurt?

"I know what that is: its a werewolf bite and it's incurable. Who did this to you?" I asked the man, I almost felt pity for him.

Choking, the man grumbled out a response, "th-they came for me t-the V-Volturi did this to me. They k-kn-ew I was in danger, they l-let this happen to -m-me."

With a small growl, Tanya stepped forward and grabbed the mans throat before shoving him up against the wall. "We have questions. Answer them and we will kill you to make it quicker. I heard being bitten by a werewolf can last for a long time, pain wise and it only gets worse."

The man made an attempt to nod his head before Tanya dropped him back onto the floor. "Why did the Volturi do this to you? Are they involved with Bella's sister in anyway? And who are you?" Danielle burst out with the questions.

The man looked at her with black eyes riddled with pain. "They d-don't like me. I-I used to be one of them and y-yes they are involved w-with Bella's s-sister. They won't interfere with the battle that will take place. C-cowards. My name is Shaun l-like I said, I am a former member of the Volturi. They came here to hunt me down, th-they sent their experiments on me," Shaun managed to choke out.

"Experiments, what do you mean? Are the Volturi planning to use whatever they are in the battle against Lucia? I know you said they wouldn't interfere, but still," Tanya spoke very fast to the dying man who shook his head furiously.

"They are unlike anything I have ever seen. I-its sick, really. Half breeds, loads of them. They are a mix of vampire and so-something e-else. I have never seen anything like them before. I think it may be human but stronger and more mutant like t-there faces... God, it was so wrong. You may be right, the Volturi will use them in the battle against Lucia, they will want to see what damage they can do in a fight."

With a heavy sigh, the man groaned. "P-please k-kill me, I-I feel s-so very weak in s-so much pain."

Staring down at the man sympathetically, Tanya gave a brief nod of her head before slamming down her foot on the mans head. There was the sound of marble breaking which echoed eerily around the cottage.

"What now?" I found myself asking in panic.

The new information that was given was sending me mental with worry. How could we fight the Volturi? The panic must have shown because Rose pulled me tighter to her body, nuzzling my hair before giving it a soft kiss.

"Now we go back home. We must tell Carlisle about this. Tanya, you phone your friends and get them to meet us there, or make their way there. This is something that needs to be discussed with EVERYONE."

She pulled me flush against her check and whispered in my ear. "On the way, maybe we should stop off at a hotel and have some privacy?" He hands grabbed my ass cheeks and gave them a gentle but erotic squeeze.

Staring wide eyed at Tanya and Danielle I saw both of them had knowing looks. Rosalie wanted to spend some private time together before heading home? Did she fear we were meeting our end, like me? This should be interesting.

AN: THANKS TO LeighJ11 FOR BENG BETA SHE'S AWESOME!

Could I have a couple of reviews guys? Id love to know what everyone is thinking about the story so far. Thanks for reading!


	22. A calm before the storm

When Rosalie said she wanted to stop off at a hotel and spend some time alone, I had no idea that it would turn out to be like this. Currently, I was lying on a massive king sized bed, the curtains were closed and candles were scattered all over the room. There was the low hum of music coming from the TV that was on and Rosalie was currently occupied in the bathroom, having a "quick shower" to quote her earlier words. She wanted us to have some romantic down time together, as did Danielle and Tanya, who were in the room across the hall; no doubt doing something they deemed romantic.

Hearing a small click coming from the bathroom, I couldn't help but smile to myself as Rosalie was finally emerged from the bathroom. She had been in the shower since we got back. Admittedly, she did ask if I wanted to join her but I had refused. I needed some alone time, even just for five minutes to compose myself. Inside, I felt like I was falling apart. I had always seen myself as living forever, something I has despised at first. But then I had met Rosalie and forever didn't seem all that bad. Now, there was a chance we wouldn't even get a year together.

My eyes snapped up as Rosalie stepped out the bathroom, a smile on her face and nothing but a silk dressing gown, followed by just her matching, seductive bra and panties. She moved over to the bed with such grace I couldn't look away. I pulled the covers back a little and patted the spot next to me while smirking.

She crawled into bed, her wet hair sticking to her face and neck. "Hey beautiful," she whispered into my ear before planting gentle kisses across my neck.

I let out a soft moan before I exposed my neck to give her some more entrance. She purred in approval and kissed her way up my neck, then slowly nipped my earlobe before licking the shell of it.

"Wait, Rose, stop," I mumbled, lust like a drug to my system.

She was getting me excited but now just wasn't the time for this. Pulling back, she gave me a confused look. "I'm sorry but c-can we just like talk or something? As much as I want this babe I just c-can't... not with everything that's going on at the moment. You understand, don't you?"

With a small huff, she plopped her head down against the pillow. "Yeah, I understand. It's just... we have to take advantage of these precious times we have with each other. You said it yourself: with everything that's going on, Bella... someone could get hurt here. What if... what if one of us gets h-hurt," she stumbled and the pain on her face tore me open. "What then?"

Reaching over, I grabbed her hand and started stroking it gently before cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at me. "Hey..." She tried to break free. "Hey! Rose, I promise you, neither of us is going to get hurt, ok?"

The look in her eyes said everything she couldn't. She was afraid, really afraid. "But how can you promise that neither of us will get hurt? What if I lose you? What am I meant to do then? And if one of us does not get hurt, then someone else might, and then what? Don't you see, Bella? I'm scared here! Someone might get hurt, or die, and I don't want that someone to be you!"

Frowning, she turned away from me, taking her hands with her. It broke my heart to hear Rosalie speak like that. "Rosalie, babe, please look at me."

She kept her back to me. With a small growl, I grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn around and look at me. This was a conversation that we was going to have face to face. "Look, I know you're scared. I would be lying if I said I wasn't. I mean, it's my sister we're trying to protect and the protection is coming from my family and my mate. I have everything to lose. It could be my sister, it could be you, or it could be any one I care about. But I know that I have no choice but to man up and get through this. I believe that every single person that I care about will get through this, including yourself and Lucia, ok? Look Rosalie, I need someone to help me through this. If I need a shoulder to cry on, so to speak, then I want that shoulder to be yours, ok? So please be brave for me. Normally, I'm not the macho one. Usually it's yourself. So no more weeping, and moaning, all right?"

To anyone else, it would of sounded cruel and selfish but I knew Rosalie needed the tough love. She wasn't one to be weak and it got her back up to have any one witness that. The faintest of smiles came across her face, which in turn made me all the more happier. With a big smile, I pulled Rosalie into my lap and began planting gentle kisses all over her shoulders and slowly making my way up to her jaw, then her mouth. The kiss was passionate and I couldn't stop moaning as we battled for dominance in each others mouth. A loud knock on the door made both of us jump in surprise.

"Who is it?" I growled out.

The door opened and Tanya came in, followed by Danielle. She looked worried. "Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I just had a phone call from Laura, and she said that the wolves have spotted a vampire on their land, most likely it was scouting but the thing is..." Tanya heisted before continuing, "it took more than five wolves to take this thing down, which makes me think that this vampire was one of the Volturis. They said it was stronger than a normal vampire, and according to Laura's description of it, it was deformed in some way: the face of it was slightly mangled."

She stopped and gulped. "Rosalie, Bella, I think it's best if we get back. On the way we can make a quick stop off towards Rosalie's friend. Hopefully someone is in, but I think its best we leave right now."

Turning my head towards Rose, I could see she was thinking the same thing as myself. I glanced back at Tanya. "Tan, can you guys wait outside please? We will be down in two minutes."

With a quick nod of her head, she sped off back out the door and towards her room, no doubt to get her stuff. Grabbing hold of Rosalie's hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze. "Come on, lets get dressed into something more appropriate."

Letting go of her hand, I hopped off the bed and made for my clothes which were lying on the desk beside the window. Throwing on my jeans and shirt, I moved my attention back to Rose. She too had her jeans and jacket on with her bag in hand.

With a small smile that never reached her lips, she asked, "you ready?"

Nodding, I grabbed my phone and swung my bag over my shoulder. "Yeah."

We made our way down stairs. Rose checked us out of the hotel we were staying at and I made my way towards the car, popping the trunk and dumping my bags and Rosalie's in there. Opening the door, I threw myself into the passenger seat, waiting for Rose.

"Hey, Bella?" Danielle's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I said quietly.

"You ok?"

Looking out the window I watched as Rose made her way towards our car, using human pace, of course. So beautiful. Perfect, and best of all: mine. "Yeah," I breathed, my eyes locking on Rosalie's when she looked up. "Yeah I am."

The trip back to Washington didn't take very long as the hotel we stayed in was a small town just outside of Washington any way. Rosalie tried phoning the person who she said would help us but had no answer and she said it wouldn't be worth us making the detour to go to their house. I didn't buy it, Rosalie wanted all the protection she could get and making a small detour would be nothing. So that got me thinking: did Rose and this person have history?

With the rain hitting the car windows and time getting on, we were only twenty minutes away from the Cullen house when my phone rang. With a frown I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller I.D; it was Alice. I clicked the green button and put it up to my ear.

"Bella? Bella!" Alice shouted at me un-necessarily on the other end of the phone.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Bella, listen to me!" She demanded as if I wasn't already listening with rapt attention. "I had a vision. Some thing is coming, and its not the people after Lucia. It was something different: shapes. I saw lots of shape, but they were blurred out."

Looking to Rose, then behind me to Tanya and Danielle, it was clear they were listening attentively too.

"Alice, what do you mean shapes? You can't see them? What does that mean?" Panic ate at my gut.

"Bella, I don't know! But me and Jazz were speaking about it, and we think it could be some sort of shifter, or a pack of them; I can't see them in my visions. Listen, we can't get a plane out until at the very least Wednesday night, so please, be careful. Let the family know too. I couldn't get a hold of anyone. Be safe Bella. Be safe all of you,"there was a pause where her breath buzzed into the speaker. It stretched and pulled my nerves thin. "I love you all," she whispered fiercely.

The line went dead. I felt as if my heart was in my throat. She'd never told me she loved me and she'd never said it so harshly, as if we had no times, as if she would never say it again...

With us nearing the Cullen's house, it was Rose who spoke up into the silence. Her voice was taunt with fear. "How could she not get a hold of anybody? What, she just phoned everyone and no one answered? What the fuck? This shit just doesn't happen. Someone always answers. Some one always picks up!"

After Rosalie's little rant I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement. It was very weird, which made me feel like something else was at play here. The only question was: did Alice really know something and didn't want to tell us? The instant Rosalie entered the dirt path that led to the Cullen house, I shoved open the car door and made my way towards the house. My speed would get me there quicker, even it was just by a few minutes. I had a lot of anticipation to see Lucia again. I had to make sure she was safe.

Upon reaching the front doors, I ignored the five scents that clearly weren't family and made my way up towards Carlisle's office, knowing that's where he was. Thank god he was ok. I didn't bother knocking on the door and instead just pushed it open and walked over to his desk where he was writing a paper.

Looking up, he stopped writing instantly and a look of worry came across his face. "Is everything all right? You're home two days earlier than expected Bella."

If I were human right now, I would have been dying to take a breath as it so happens, I started breathing more heavily. "Carlisle, I have so much to tell you. We have managed to recruit people, all though you're already aware of that."

I pointed towards down stairs where the new scents were but the talking had stopped altogether, no doubt to listen in. I quickly gave him a run down about what had happened at the masked mans house and watched as shock and horror chased each other across his face. Suddenly, he stood up. I turned to follow his gaze and saw that Rosalie, Tanya and Danielle were entering the room with a swift pace.

Tanya marched up to him. "We had a phone call from Laura: the wolves had attacked and killed something, a vampire-mutant. It took five wolves to kill it, and we believe that this vampire mutant is the Volturi's weapon. It's stronger than anything, faster than anything and there could be loads more of them."

Taking Rosalie's hand into mine, I gave it a gentle and reassuring squeeze before speaking up. "That's not all, Carlisle. Alice phoned me, and said she could not get hold of anyone... but more importantly, she had a vision, and that vision was blurred out. She saw shapes coming here."

With a small frown, he put his hand to his chin before addressing us. "That's a lot of information. Tanya, Danielle, why don't you go to La Push; speak to the wolves, and Laura, find out everything you can about what happened there. It might give us some sort of idea as to how they fight and what were up against exactly."

With a small nod, Tanya grabbed Danielle's hand and blurred out the room, leaving just the three of us.

"Now, you said Alice phoned you? Saying she saw shapes coming here? What does this mean? Her vision was blurry? Hmm. That almost resembles shifters, oddly enough. The amount of times Alice complained that all she saw was blurred shapes and nothing else... Well I guess we should keep our eyes open, and I shall give Alice a call; find out if she has seen anything else."

With that, he gave us a small smile. Seeing this as a dismissal, me and Rose made our way downstairs. There was now only one new scent in the house. Where the hell did everyone go?

"Hey, I'm going to go and get the bags from the car, then take a shower. Ok?" Rosalie said to before leaning in and kissing my cheek.

Letting go of my hand, she blurred downstairs into the garage. I sighed, scrubbing down my face wearily and trying to compose myself. I was so exhausted inside and it was made worse knowing that I wouldn't be able to shake it. I couldn't sleep, couldn't fall into dark unconsciousness and slip away for just twenty minutes. It made me bone tired. Pulling myself together, I made my way into the living room, where a man with dark hair stood, staring at me intently with a small smile.

I gasped. "Declan!"

Before I could even speak, I sped over to him and gave him a hug. "Hello, Bella. It's good to see you again."

Pulling out the hug, I raised an eyebrow at him." How the hell did you get here? Of all places!"

The man gave a soft laugh before waving his hand into the air. "My dear Bella, I am good friends with Tanya. You see, she gave me a phone call and once she said your name, I knew I had to be here for you, and your sister. I was and am, so glad to hear you had found her."

I grinned broadly. He looked so different and exactly the same, it was hard to believe he was really here. Must must be the clothes. With a mental shrug, my gaze swept the room. So many scents were in here that I couldn't even pull them apart, they just melded together.

I sighed and turned my gaze back to Declan. "Where is everyone? Did you come all by yourself?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch.

Dylan continued to stand up and looked down at me with care and love in his eyes. He was like my mentor, my brother, my guide. He taught me everything I knew. I loved him like family. I was suddenly ashamed I hadn't chose to look for him and had a reunion sooner.

"They're out hunting. I believe your sister and her mate are at La Push. Esme so kindly showed the rest where they could, uh, hunt without causing a problem. And, as you mention it Bella, I am not alone. I brought a friend, however, she wanted to hunt before coming here. So she should be here shortly."

"This wouldn't happen to be your girlfriend now would it?" I teased.

Declan gave a throaty laugh, one which could even rival that of Emmett's and shook his head. "No, no. We are, hmm, how do you put it? Just friends."

He grinned and I grinned back. Making a move and standing up, I gave him another small smile. "It's amazing to see you Dec, but I got to get going; see Lucia and the others for a while. Will you be ok, or do you want to come with?"

He shook his head. "No, i'll stay here. I'm not very fond of shifters, Bella. I am afraid." He gave me a lopsided grin to which I rolled my eyes at before shouting, "HEY, Rose! I'm going to La Push to see the Family. I know how much you hate shifters and their smell, so maybe when you're done, you and Dylan can bond. Be nice to him! He's a dear old, very old," I shot a wicked grin at Declan. "Friend."

With that I muttered a "see you later" to Dylan followed with a hug while Rose shouted after me, "have a bath when you get home otherwise you are not getting into our room Bella!"

With a laugh, I took off towards the forest with a quick hunt in mind before I stopped off at La Push. Running deeper into the forest, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking in everything around me. I listened deeply for any sign of heart beats before I picked up two. Opening my eyes, I followed the sound. My throat began it's usual burning because I was now becoming thirsty. Stopping at two trees, I peered my head around them and narrowed my eyes.

There was two does, neither had noticed me. With my vampire speed, I sped out from behind the trees and ran at the one on the right; because of my speed they didn't notice me until it was too late. I smashed my mouth to the neck and started drinking deeply. When I was done and there no blood left, I bent down and picked up the doe before dropping it at nearby tree.  
>With a heavy sigh I turned around and began making my way towards La Push.<p>

Suddenly, the sound of running and snapping twigs caught my attention. A horrible scent hit my nose, causing me to stop in my tracks. What the fuck was that? I quickly dashed behind a nearby tree. The scents and footsteps stopped just on the other side of the tree. If I were human, I would have been sick. The stench was absolutely foul.

A voice rang out, calling to me. "I know you're there vampire, show yourself."

The voice was strong accented but I couldn't place the accent. With small frown, and an unsteady breath, I stepped out from behind the tree to see who called me out. I had to do a double take. There was three men, all with black, untidy hair and they all looked wild and unkept. Black, bushy beards and more muscle than Emmett paired with the fact they all looked extremely viscous.

"Who are you?" I asked them.

With a low growl, one of the men, the one on the left, stepped out of the line they had formed. "My name is Darn, these are my brothers: Stul and Leka. We are travellers of the wild, however, we do have a supernatural power. We were told Carlisle lives here?"

Taking a small step back, I took in what he said. Travellers of the wild. What was that? "How do you know Carlisle? And, what are you?" I asked, stepping closer, feeling a lot more confident than I looked.

The man Stul opened his mouth. "We know Carlisle from a long time ago and we are Lycans, the last of our kind."

Lycans... like the big, scary monster Wolves she had encountered in Italy so many years ago? What the fuck? How many supernatural things were out there? Opening my mouth, I was about to respond when a scent caught my nose.

With a small smile, I knew who it was. So high a very low bow of my head, I spoke up to the travellers. "Why don't you speak to Carlisle yourself? He's here." I pointed to the man in question as he walked out towards me.

Putting his hand upon my shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze before looking ahead at three men. "My friends, good to see you again. What brings you this way?"

With another growl -did they do that a lot?- Leka stepped forward and shook Carlisle's outstretched hand. "Good to see you as well. But is there another place we may speak... more privately." He looked towards myself in hint before Carlisle did too and gave a small laugh.

"Bella here is going to see her family. Come. We can go to my office to speak more privately and Bella, before you go, don't be surprised if Rosalie turns up all of a sudden, we both know how she is."

With that, I took off towards La Push and didn't look back, really wanting to get out of that horrible smell. It didn't take long to reach La Push and when I did, it took me by surprise. Out in the forest was small huts, built around a small cliff face with a hole in the cliff. There was so many people here. Where they all shifters?

"Bella!" A voice shouting my name brought me back to earth. It was Lucia's.

Spinning around, I was just in time to feel the full impact of my sister slamming into me. I grinned as we hugged each other before her nose scrunched up. "Wow, you really stink."

I laughed. "Yeah. Is there anywhere we can talk?"

Kate grinned over at me which I retuned happily. "Yeah, in the hall. Sarah and Danielle are there."

She grabbed hold of my hand and started dragging me off towards the hole in the cliff. The cliff inside was unlike anything I could have thought. There was steps that led down into a long hall with rooms on each side. In the centre of the hall, was a seat where James was sitting, holding his head.

"Bella!" Another voice shouted my name, causing me to grin. Laura.

"Hey!" I need to speak to everyone. James, are you free?"

He lifted his head off his hands and gave a small nod. "Yeah. Sorry Bella, I'm just so tired. Everything has been chaos with Sam leaving behind his pack. Some people were not willing to be loyal to me."

I nodded my head in understanding. "What has happened to them? Sam and that I mean."

"The elders have banished them, never to return. There was seven in total who have been banished," came a voice to the left of me: Seth.

I grinned over at him as he walked over to Laura and took hold of her hand. He still looked rather shy, which was so cute.

I turned my attention back to the Alpha. "James, I need to know something: are you going to help us protect Lucia?"

The man nodded his head. "Yes. Of course we'll help protect your sister."

With a grateful nod of my head, I muttered a thanks. "Did you get any help?" Kate asked.

"Yeah."

Wrapping her arms around Lucia, she nuzzled her hair before mumbling a "good" so I turned my focus on to James. "I don't mean to be rude but I need yourself and my family here. Only them. Please, I have some stuff to talk about."

James looked at me curiously but nodded. "Sure, but first, there is something you've got to see. Come with me."

James got off his seat and took off, back out the way we came in. I began following him. "Where's Tanya and Danielle?" I asked Lucia who began walking beside me.

"Where we're going. It's just up here," James said, answering my question.

We walked about five minutes outside the small camp into a clear clearing with only a few trees scattered about here and there. Ahead of us was two women: Tanya and Danielle and it suddenly dawned on me what James wanted to show me: the Vampire thing that attacked the camp.

As soon as we got close, Danielle blurred over towards Laura, pulling her into a tight embrace while I walked over towards Tanya and gave her a small hug. I didn't know why, but I felt the need to.

She smiled a little at me. "Is everything all right?" I asked, my own voice sounded so quiet, so foreign.

"Yes, but you need to see this."

Tanya took my hand and lead me to the body lying on the ground. I couldn't help the small gasp that came out of my mouth. Lying on the ground was a vampire or at least, it looked like a vampire. But it had dark green veins all across the body, the parts that were exposed anyway. The face was covered in them. Looking at the hands, I saw where nails should be and instead claws were.

"Fuck me," I breathed. "What is this thing?" I asked, more to myself than anyone else.

"Bella there is something I need to tell you... after our pack killed it, we sent out people to search ahead and see if there was more. We found something horrible," James whispered, his face fell grim and he looked down to the ground.

"What did you find?" I asked him.

"People. We found three people going berserk. They had the same green veins that the vampire had. Upon further inspection, they had been bitten, but not drained of blood. It seems that they had been infected by the mutant."

Meeting his eyes, I held his gaze before speaking quietly, "shit. Does Carlisle know this? This is really fucking bad guys. If these vampire things can infect people, that's not good. What happened to the people?" I directed my question towards James, who if it were possible, looked more stressed and sad.

"They blew up. It's lucky none of us were hurt."

"They blew up?" I gasped.

He nodded glumly. Holy fuck. What now? "We have to form a plan."

"We already have one, Bella," Lucia spoke up."

"Well, what is it?" I demanded, tapping my foot impatiently earning a few chuckles from everyone.

"Looks like Rosalie has been rubbing off on you Bella," Irina said, a smirk working its way up across her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, huffing, then crossing my arms across my chest.

"Well, Rosalie is very bitchy, and that's the way you are being now."

I felt like I had been slapped. Bitchy, really? Just when I was about to retaliate, James spoke up, "Bella, we have tunnels underground that lead in different directions. Our plan is simple. We are going to ambush the attackers when they come. We will come up from behind, and drive them directly towards yourself. It's a simple plan but it's so simple it should work. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to get back. I have to sort more things out."

With that, James took off. leaving nine of us in the clearing. "So, Tanya, Danielle, I take it you haven't spoke and told them anything yet?"

They both shook their heads. "Ok, well I want to speak to Lucia for a while. Can you tell everyone what went down?"

"Of course," they answered in unison.

I gave them both a smile. "Thanks."

Making my way out of the clearing with Lucia in tow, I made my way towards the beach which I knew was only five minutes away from where we were. Once reaching the beach, I took a seat on a fallen tree log. Lucia sat beside me and stared at me expectantly. I couldn't help but sigh at the sight before me: the sun was setting across the sea, the water was calm it was beautiful. I also watched Lucia out the corner of my eye, doing the same. As kids we had both loved the sea, the feel of wind on our faces, the sea air: everything about it was beautiful.

"So?" Lucia spoke up.

"So?" I answered her in return.

"You wanted to speak to me?" I felt a little bit hurt with the bluntness in her voice.

"Yeah I did. Well actually, I just wanted to spend some time with you." I looked at the ground sheepishly before she reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently.

I looked up at her to see she now had a small smile across her face. "Do you remember when Dad used to take us to the beach?" I smiled back, nodding my head.

"Yeah, it's why I wanted to come here and talk. We always loved the beach, didn't we?"

"Yeah we did."

Letting go of her hand, I stood up and began walking human pace along the beach, trailing at waters edge. The sun was almost gone now but the glow it left was still beautiful. Walking beside me, Lucia was smiling and it brought a smile to my face. She deserved to be happy.

"So how's things between you and Kate?" I asked.

"Great, I love her. She's perfect, funny, smart, strong and confident. I couldn't have a better mate. What about you and Rosalie? She seems... nice."

I gave her a playful shove of the shoulder. "Nice, she seems nice? Yeah, she is nice, and when you get to know her better, you will see she is amazing. I'm lucky that I've met someone as special as Rosalie."

"You seem so happy with her. You're right: it would be better if I get to know her and I promise you that once this is all over, I will. But, uh, can I ask? When we you were human, did you, uh, were you ever interested in women?" That caught me off guard.

"I don't know. Back then seems so long ago, doesn't it? What about you? Did you have feelings for women?"

Shaking her head, she answered confidently, "no, no one. It's why it was such a shock when the person that I was going to spend forever with was a woman. But I couldn't be happier."

With the sun now gone, I looked out across the water. "Are you scared?" She asked me softly.

"Yes," I answered with a heavy sigh before turning around and facing her. "I'm not delude, Lucia. So many people are going to get hurt and I', scared because the people I love most, the people who mean so much to me, are in this fight, and I don't want to lose them." My voice cracked a little as my eyes glossed over with tears that couldn't fall.

Lucia pulled me into a tight embrace. "I know how you feel, Bella. I feel the same way. To have all these people fight for me, and knowing that people are going to get hurt, because of me, brings me great pain, and sadness. But its like everyone says: we have to be strong to get through this."

Nodding my head, I rested it on her shoulder. "I love you," I mumbled.

"I know. I love you too."

Pulling apart, I took one last look at the sea. "There's a calm before the storm."

I took a seat on the sand and just stared out towards the water with Lucia taking a seat beside me. I rested my head on her shoulder and sighed. We stayed like that for hours. It was nice until my phone rang.

With a small growl, I pulled it out my pocket and answered it. "What is it Rose?" I snapped into the phone. She knew she was disturbing me.

"Bella I'm sorry, I know you're with Lucia, but you guys have to get home, NOW. Alice just phoned Carlisle and said the people coming to get Lucia would be here Thursday. She had a vision and said they are going to attack much sooner. The rest of the family is on their way home with the people they could get to join their cause."

Frowning, I checked my watch: 4:10 AM. I cursed. I hadn't realised how late it was! Now I felt bad for snapping. "Yeah, sure. We'll be there in five. I'm sorry for snapping at you, Rose," I whispered into the phone.

"It's fine Bella, I understand."

With that, I hung up my phone and looked at Lucia. "Before we go to the house I have to ask you something."

She nodded her head, looking worried. "Shy are these people after you? And don't lie to me either, Lucia. There has to be some reason."

Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed. "I know why they are after me, or at least, I think I do. You see, I killed someone. I was scared and I did not mean it. He tried to kill me and after fighting with him, I killed him. It turned out he was an important person."

"An important person?"

Looking away, she mumbled, "yeah. He was the main "bad guy" kind of thing and he was in charge of three groups or something."

"All right. That explains it a little bit. You had to do it in self defence, but fuck me he must have been important to get this many people after you. Anyway, we should go."

We took off towards the Cullen house, blurring past trees and through the forest. It took only fifteen minutes to get to the house and upon entering, I smelt that everyone was in the living room. Walking into the room, I saw everyone, including the people I knew, to the people I didn't. In total, there was more than twenty people here, in this room, including the three travellers.

"So Rosalie phoned, said Alice had a vision?" I said, walking over to Carlisle who smiled apologetically at me.

"Yes, she did. But we are going to have to wait until everyone else gets home."

With a frown I took a step back. "Then why did Rosalie phone me and ask for me to come home?"

Esme sped over to me, wrapping me in a hug before answering my question, "sweetheart, she wants to speak to you privately." She nodded her head towards Rosalie, who was standing talking with Carman and Elazar, both of whom gave me a small smile. Elazars eyes were positively twinkling.

"Uh, Rose, you want to speak to me privately?"

She smiled but it didn't reach her face. "Yeah... Would you wait outside a moment?"

Giving her a confused look, I looked around the room before walking outside and waiting. I did not have to wait too long as Rosalie came walking out a couple of minutes later and she took my breath away. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that reached her ankles with six inch black heels. It was the kind of dress you saw at prom which made me even more nervous. However, I couldn't help but drink her appearance in. Fuck me, she looked stunning. Words couldn't describe this goddess in front of me.

Walking over to me, she gave me a smile. "I want to speak to you at the lake. You remember that right? Where you and Esme pushed me and Emmett in?" She gave me pointed look.

"Yeah, I remember."

She grabbed my hand and started dragging me away towards the lake. It took us only five minutes to get there and the instant we stopped, Rosalie mashed her lips to mine, catching me completely off guard. The kiss was hot, passionate and had me so aroused my eyes felt heavy. When she pulled away, I whimpered.

"Wow. Rose. What's going on? Why are you attacking my lips at the lake when you could be doing it in bed?" I whispered softly, trying to kiss her again, lust riding my blood stream.

She pulled away and started pacing, looking really stressed out before walking back towards me. "Bella, with everything going on... For the first time since I became a vampire I have never been more happier than I am now, and its because of you. I love you so much; you bring out the best in me and while I can say that I am scared for the first time as a vampire too, I want to ask you something in case something happens to one of us. I need to know so..."

Getting down on one knee, Rosalie pulled out a little blue box. the same colour as her dress and looked at me. "Bella, will you marry me?"


	23. The last of us part I

Staring at the stunning woman in front of me, disbelief coursed through my body. Was she really doing this? Now, of all times? Staring at Rosalie, the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, I found myself smiling and taking another glance down at the ring. It was a plan silver diamond ring and it was perfect. But, maybe a little too big. Not the ring, the diamond itself. Without another seconds delay, I launched myself at Rosalie, knocking her off balance and down into ground. My lips mashed again her own. When we pulled apart, we were both panting.

"Yes! Rosalie, I-I will marry you!" I stuttered, nervous and over hyper.

With a massive grin, Rose pushed herself off the ground and pulled me up with her before taking the ring out of the box and sliding it across my finger. The smile stretching my face ached as I watched the ring slowly move across my finger, the feel of cold hard ring felt rather good. Holding up my hand, I felt a little dizzy. It was beautiful! Taking my eyes away from the ring, I stared at Rosalie who was grinning ear to ear.

"It's beautiful, Rose," I whispered sincerely.

I meant it. The diamond in particular stood out along with the small engravings: 'Till min Karlek jag kommer alltid att vara med dig'

Frowning, I put my hands on my hips. "So, the engraving is Swedish: 'to my love I will always be with you' bit cheesy isn't it?" I teased.

Rosalie let out a small growl before leaping at me. "I'll have you know, I had that ring specially made and the engraving is meant to be romantic!"

I laughed and grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers together before leaning in and kissing her. "Maybe we should get back, tell the others?"

Leaning in to kiss me, Rosalie murmured an, 'ok' against my lips before scooping me up in the bridal position, causing a small scream to leave my mouth as the woman caught me unprepared. "Rose, put me down!" I shouted at her, half laughing, half serious as we blurred through the forest.

With the Cullen house in sight, Rosalie finally stopped and put me down while laughing. I gave her a quick scowl before shoving her shoulder playfully. "That wasn't funny, Rose! I don't like it when that shit happens and I never have!"

I sent her a playful growl and she just laughed harder as we walked up to the Cullen house. It was weird calling it that: the Cullen house. It was pretty much my house now too. I gave Rose one last shove before opening the front door and stepping inside. I felt Rose peck me on the cheek before blurring up stairs. Getting dressed maybe? I didn't see why: she looked amazing in that dress. Although, I should be the only who gets to see her in things like that, even if it wasn't really revealing.

Stepping into the loving room, I was taken by surprise as family, friends and complete strangers shouted "congratulations" to me. Before I could even speak to even ask how the fuck they knew -not every one could have spotted my ring that fast could they?- I was met by the ever tightening hug caused by my older sister who was hugging me so intensely I could feel my body start to crack.

"Lucia! Mind and letting me go?" I gasped.

She shook her head in response. My ribs started giving way. I winced, beginning to do some air signals, I pointed to Kate, then to my sister and started doing air quotes. Kate, who was watching the scene like everyone else with some amusement looked back at me innocently.

"Kate, get your woman off me before she breaks me!" I hissed.

There were a few chuckles coming from the room before a voice broke out, "group hug!"

Danielle's voice? That little fucker had been spending far too much time with Kate and Emmett: the two biggest jokers out there.

"NO! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!"

Before I could swear further, I was squashed against Lucia's body further with Tanya, Danielle, Kate, Irina and Sarah, all hugging me. The hug was intense, so intense that I was more than positive that I would burst after about five minutes more of this. Finally, everyone pulled away, all of them laughing before saying congratulations and I am so happy for you.

Putting my hands on my hips and doing a great portrait of Esme, I growled at them. "Guys, do not every crush hug me like that again!" I then softened my face into a smile. "But thanks guys, all of you. I still can't believe Rose proposed to me. God, I feel like such a girly-girl."

I could see that many were stifling giggles. Tanya was closest and let out a quiet chuckle. "Bella, girly-girl?" She said, fighting the smile on her face.

I tried not to roll my eyes at them. "A high school girl, guys."

There was a chorus of "ah's" even from the three wild men who sat in the corner of the room closest to the kitchen. Kate started to point as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me tight against their body protectively.

"And there is your Mrs right there Bella," Kate squealed excitedly.

More smiles and congratulations. "Wow! So what, no group hug for Rosalie?" I shouted.

There was a fresh chorus of laughter, particularly from Esme and Carlisle who stepped forward to give their daughter a hug and kiss.

It was Kate who spoke up, "no offence, Bella. I love Rosalie and all, but I'm not stupid enough to hug her like that."

"Yeah, she would kill us. We all know what Rosalie is like," Irina spoke up.

Tanya added to that with a smirk, "yeah, a bitch most of the time."

There was a slight chuckle from the girl behind me and her arms tightened around me even more before she buried her nose in my hair. Smiling, I sighed back into her arms.

"PARTY!" Lucia shouted excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"Ugh, now?" Rose brushed her lips against my ear. "I believe she said party."

Party? They wanted to have a party? "You guys do remember what's going on right? That there are people out there, coming for Lucia in less than a day now and you guys want to have a party?" I crossed my arms over chest.

"Bella, this is the perfect time to have a party when we still can," Esme whispered.

I bit my lip. She was right. There was no guarantee that anyone of us would survive. "What about everyone else though?" I asked, staring at Esme.

"They will understand Bella. By the time they get back from their trip, we won't have enough time to throw a party."

With a frown, I spun around in Rose's arms, staring at her expectantly. She furrowed her brow before speaking, "maybe this will be a good thing. But only for a little while." She planted a kiss on my lips.

"Brilliant! I'll set up the music. For our visitors: blood bags are in the fridge. For the wild men: there is plenty of meat in the fridge and for the animal drinkers, such as ourselves, there are plenty of animal cups that I spent all day on. I know we all feel tense but lets not forget, this is about our daughter: Rosalie and our now newest daughter, Bella. Although, we considered her to be our daughter when she first moved here," Esme finally finished her small speech with a grin aimed at me and Rose before she disappeared, then reappeared seconds later, this time with music playing in the back ground.

"Well," I sighed in Rosalie's arms, "maybe we should enjoy ourselves while we can right?"

I made my way out of her arms and to the kitchen. "Hey, Bella, how do you think Alice we take this once she finds out that we have had a party without her?" Irina said next to me.

I grinned at her. "You know something? I'm pretty sure she will already know by now. It is Alice, after all."

This earned a small chuckle from her before she threw an animal blood cup into my hands. As I stared at it, I laughed softly. The cup was just plastic, with a straw attached to it. Taking the straw off the cup, I put it into the cup and started sipping away. I wasn't that thirsty so there was no need to rush.

After spending some more time in the kitchen with Irina, Sarah and a girl called Sophie, who was one of Tanya's friends, I made my back towards the living room where Carlisle, Esme, Carman and Elezar were sat talking with Rosalie, who had a big smile across her face.

I made straight for her lap, taking a seat and kissing her hand. "Hey," I said happily before looking at Esme. "Thank you."

She waved her hand in the air in response. "Don't worry about it Bella."

"So, Bella. How do you feel knowing that you are going to be Mrs Hale?" Carman asked me, her eyes positively twinkling, just like her husbands.

"Uh, well I don't know really. I mean, why does it have to be Hale? Why can't she take my name?" I asked, knowing I would get a reaction from Rosalie.

Feeling a slight poke in my side, I turned around in her lap, smiling brightly. "Yes?"

She scowled at me. "You will be Hale, because I said so. I am the one in control, after all," she added with a slight smug smirk, which in turn caused me to scowl back. "Oh? Is that so? I never knew you were the dominant one. You would never have guessed, with me always being the one in control in the bedroom." Now it was my turn to smile smug while I turned to face the others who looked rather embarrassed.

"Bella, I am the dominant one in OUR relationship. I have only acted like this and let you be in control because I have never had a mate before and I did not want to scare you away."

Rolling my eyes in response, I muttered, "yeah, whatever you say Rose."

With a low grumbling growl emitting from her chest, she let out a snarl. "Is that right, my Bella? Well, I'll show you who's the dominant one. YOU ARE MINE!"

Before I could contemplate her words, she picked me up and ran up stairs with me to our bedroom, slamming the door shut in the process. She shoved me onto the bed and started undressing faster than I could blink. Her eyes were pitch black and her lower lip was trembling. Very slowly, I started backing up the bed, as she started crawling towards me. Excitement, desire and lust spun and wound through my body.

"YOU ARE MINE, BELLA! YOU BELONG TO ME. YOU ARE MY PROPERTY!" She snarled at me and I could not help but whimper a little in submission.

God, she was turning me on. I didn't realise I was so into this. Rosalie released a small smirk from her features as she stalked even faster towards me. To say I had one of the best nights in a long time is an understatement. After Rosalie rocked my world and proved that she was the one in control, or at least, she was in the bedroom, we stayed up stairs for a little while longer before going back downstairs to enjoy the rest of the party where I had a good laugh.

Especially with the karaoke. Me and Esme faced each other in the final and I lost, then I spoke with Carlisle and Esme. It was a pretty heartfelt conversation then I had another one right after that with my sister Lucia, then another one with Tanya and the rest of the family. They all made it pretty clear that they were happy for me and Rosalie and I couldn't agree more.

Right now though, we were currently waiting outside. It was 9:00 AM and Alice, Jasper and the rest of the family would be home soon. Alice had phoned half an hour ago to say that they would landing in five minutes. With it being just me and Rose waiting outside to greet them, everyone else was out doing their thing, mostly hunting, as no one wanted to venture too far from the house with everything that was going on. The sound of an engine brought me out of my deep thoughts. I looked to Rose and smiled at her before giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

The sound got closer and closer before finally a car turned into the drive way and three others behind it. Fuck me, they must have got some help. Before I could even get a word out my mouth a loud squeal/scream brought me out of my thoughts and looking down, there was a small thing cuddled into me: Alice. With a smile I laughed before she stopped hugging me and moved onto Rose then started jumping up and down, clapping her hands together happily. "I am so happy for you guys!" she exclaimed almost in a sing song voice.

"Belly bear and Rosy posy closing the shack huh?" Emmett said. walking up to us with Caitlin attached at the arm. The bear of a man scooped me up and swung me around before doing the same with Rosalie.

Looking up at them, I grinned. "So, how did it go?"

There were a few exchanged glances between them before a voice spoke up, "it could have been better, Bella."

It was Jasper walking beside Edward and Amanda. Both gave small smiles in our direction. "We offer our congratulations, but perhaps now isn't the time," Edward said quietly.

With a bob of my head, I turned my attention towards some of the new faces that started to emerge and stand beside Jasper and Edward. There was a man with grey hair and looked rather old. He must of been changed late in life. Next to the man was a girl who looked young enough to be his daughter.

"Oh yeah," Alice said, putting her hands on her hips. She shot me and Rose a glare. "I heard you guys had a party without me?"

For a girl so small, Alice was scary sometimes. With a small chuckle beside me, Rose grinned at her. "Yeah we did. You know we did. But maybe now isn't the best time for your little tantrum. Perhaps we should go back inside. I'm sure Esme and Carlisle have missed you."

With another small glare, Alice huffed and walked past us, muttering about something being unfair. Grinning, I took Rosalie's other hand and started dragging her back in the house. We made our way towards the loveseat before I sat down, trying to pull Rosalie onto my lap.

"Uh, no. I don't think so," she said, staring at me expectantly, before grabbing my arm, pulling up off the seat then she sat down on the chair and pulled me onto her lap.

"I guess this is all that your the one in control now which is why you have me on your lap?" I questioned her with a stony look.

"Of course. Your mine and I like you sitting on my lap," she finished off with a quick grin.

"Yeah, I like sitting in your lap too." I admitted shyly. looking down in her lap before she leaned in and kissed my lips.

"Love you," she added quickly when Esme and everyone else came in to the living room.

Wow. There was of people here now. At least 30. Looking around at everyone in the room, I couldn't help but feel a little stressed. What if they got hurt? God, what was I thinking? Of course they were going to get hurt. There was going to be a fucking war here! Hearing a slight gasp caused me to turn around in Rose's lap and stare at the couch.

Alice and Jasper sat there. Alice had her eyes glossed over. Was she having a vision? Looking towards Edward, who all of a sudden stood up off his seat in the corner just as Carlisle walked in, confused and slightly alarmed me. I stood up and stared at Edward, then back to Alice.

"What's going on? Edward, what do you see?" I asked him, my voice panicky.

This caused the rest of the room to fall silent. "They will be here in one hour." Was all he said, his jaw was tightened as he clenched his teeth.

I turned back around just in time to see Alice come out of her vision. She looked panicked. She rushed over to Carlisle. "They will be here in one hour! We have to get ready, NOW!" She growled fiercely at him.

Holding his hand up, Carlisle made his way to Jasper. "Do you think you could go over our plan with our guests? While you do that, I will get in touch with the wolves. make sure they are ready. This is so much earlier than we expected."

With that, there seemed to be chaos in the room. I tried to stand up. but Rose wouldn't let me. She just growled and held me closer, looking about at everyone who was now moving outside. Where the fuck was Lucia? I couldn't see her any where.

"Rose, let me go now!" I demanded to her, spinning around and facing her.

She growled. "No, Bella. Not yet, wait until everyone moves out. Remember, we will be with Carlisle and Esme."

I accepted defeat but couldn't help struggling in her vice like arms every now and then. After what felt like an age, Carlisle and Esme came out. Both had sour looks across their face as they marched up to us. "We have twenty minutes to get to the line where we will fight. Alice and Jasper took some of the guys to go and defend further east. Emmett and Caitlin took the west side with some people."

Forty minutes we had been waiting here? I started struggling harder than ever. Lucia. I didn't get to say anything to her.

"Bella, stop," Esme said, gently putting her hand on my shoulder. "We need you to focus."

I stopped struggling and sat still. "Now. we are going to meet up with everyone else. The wolves are ready for the ambush."

"What about the north?" I asked. Surely some one would come from there.

"The north is being watched by Declan and the woman he is with."

Growling, I stood up with Rose's arms some how still around my waist. "You sent him to the north by himself?"

"No. He volunteered to go and so did the woman he is with. Bella, we need everyone at the front line here, you know this."

I ran my fingers through my hair and nodded glumly. "Yeah."

Turning around so I was face to face with Rosalie, I mashed my mouth to hers for a split second then pulled away and leaned my forehead against her own. I whispered, "I love you," my voice hoarse.

I turned back around and looked to Carlisle and Esme. "Lets go then."

Both nodded their heads in turn before speeding off out the house and made their way towards the forest with me and Rosalie right behind them. As we ran, I couldn't help but think: is this it? What if someone dies? And I never even had the chance to say goodbye to them? If something happened to Rosalie, or Lucia how would I cope? Shaking my head, I knocked all the negative thoughts out of my head.

I sped up.

"It's just up ahead!" Shouted Carlisle before slowing down into a jog then a walk.

I found myself doing the same. We came to a stop in a small clearing before walking towards where our family was standing in a line, one behind the other. Lucia was in the front with Kate, Tanya, Danielle and her sisters. She was well protected. Without thinking, I ran towards her and pulled her into a hug. I felt like crying and right now, she needed me. She needed me to be brave and help her through this. Rosalie came and stood by my side as I took my place by my sister.

We waited only five minutes before the first sound came out of the forest in front of us. The air was covered with a foul stench, one which I had grown to be slightly familiar with. Snapping twigs and running feet got me ready. I crouched halfway in the defence position before the sound went quiet and the only noise coming out of the forest was heavy breathing and snarls. Suddenly, a voice broke out, followed by people walking, then out stepped a man who appeared to be in the lead.

He had a black hood up so I couldn't see his face. Behind him was his army of vampires, werewolves and hybrids. The man stopped and looked up. The blackness of his hood kept pretty much his face at bay, although even with vampire eyes I could only make out his blue eyes and a slight scar near his mouth.

He lifted up his arms, put his hands to his hood then pulled it down, revealing a heavily scarred man with no hair at all on his head. "We have come for the girl. Hand her over and no one gets hurt," he stated swiftly, his face turned into a rather sadistic smile.

Before I knew what came over me, I stepped out, ignoring the gasps and small pleas from Rosalie and Lucia to get back beside them.

Staring at the man, I growled at him. "You are not getting her. You best leave, before you get hurt." I had no idea what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

The man tilted his head back and laughed. "Oh my Isabella, you are just like your sister. You have a naughty little mouth on you." He gave a small lick of his lips in a grotesque way which made a rather loud snarl come from Rosalie.

He gave another chuckle. "Well, it seems Bella, that you, like your sister, are stubborn and like your sister and your friends here, you will die where you stand. But I am feeling generous. I will ask one more time: hand Lucia over otherwise we will do what we came prepared to do." The man stared intently at me, raising his eyebrow in a challenging way.

Slowly, I stepped back into the line beside my sister and mate. The man let out an angry huff before waving his hand in the air. "I tried to reason with you, Bella. Remember that any one who dies here, including your mate, friends and family is on you."

His words hit me right in the chest. It stung like a bitch. I stared straight ahead. I could feel anger bubbling up inside of me as the man dropped his hand and the army charged at us. Without thinking, I, and everyone else, ran right back at them. The werewolves in front of me exploded into form. It seemed as though everything was in slow motion at the moment as we met them head on. There a sound like a bomb as we all clashed with one another. I lashed my hands out, smacking the vampire attacking me and sending cracks all over his face.

With a growl, I let a familiar feeling run through me, a feeling I hadn't used in a while. The warmth spread through my body as my hands turned into flame. I threw my fist into his face again this time with the added force of the fire. It was enough to cause damage to the degree that his head came off. Without thinking, I made my way onto the next victim. using my gift as my weapon. I smashed my fists into the enemy, sending them crashing backwards.

I threw my fists into the hybrid. I was fighting at the same time our knuckles connected with each other, making a sound like thunder. With another savage growl. I threw myself back towards him, throwing punch after punch at him, connecting every time. I grabbed his arm and snapped it off before sending a final punch at him, knocking him down to the ground. Taking a brief glance at my hand, I did a double take. It was red, like a stove. But where was the flames?

I didn't have much time to think about it as another vampire jumped at me, throwing her arms about the place and hissing wildly. I shoved my hands onto her face and instantly she started screaming before her face fell to ash. Staring back down at my hands, both were now as red as a stove. I realised that my gift has somehow evolved in someway. It was no longer flames, it was something more useful now. Maybe it had something to do with what was going on?

Too preoccupied by my own thoughts, I failed to notice a wolf running towards me. It's jaws were wide open. As I braced myself for the impact, I watched in awe as another wolf came into view, smashing in the side of the beast. It was the La Push wolves. I spun around in time to see them emerge from behind the army, making them scatter. Knowing this was our chance to get rid of as many of them as possible, I glanced to the side to see Lucia and Kate fighting with immense speed, knocking back hybrids.

A little ahead of them I could see Rosalie fighting three on her own. Growling, I made my way over to her, fighting in the process as a vampire jumped onto my back and started clawing at my face. Grabbing hold of the arm, I swung it down onto the ground then stomped on the head of it, breaking the face before looking back up to see where Rosalie was. She was still fighting but now there was only two. The growing feeling to help my mate washed over me until I couldn't see straight.

I ran as fast as I could, not even caring about fighting. I needed to protect her. I got right beside her, smashing the vampire in the face while Rosalie got the other. Too busy fighting, the hybrid that turned up out of no where, the sound of a roar made me turn around only to be thrown off my feet and to the ground. Looking up, my gaze connected with a werewolves, it's jaws snapping wildly at me. I looked to Rosalie quickly.

As she turned around, our eyes locked briefly before a vampire grabbed her from behind, giving her a low blow. It threw her to the ground before stomping down on her arm. The sound of breaking marble made me stare wide eyed as the arm of Rosalie's was broken off. My stomach lurched, my head spun, my mind roared. The world narrowed, sharpened. My vision trained on Rosalie.

I jumped high, running full speed, my head thumping, my eyes locked on Rosalie's as her eyes locked on mine, her mouth stretched in a scream. Anger, wild and hot, with fear, desperate and cold coursed through me. Suddenly, the man who spoke earlier stepped out in front of Rosalie. Her eyes were locked onto mine as were the mans as he grinned manically.

With deliberate slowness, his foot smashed on to her head.

The world titled, slowed, sped up, blew up as Rosalie dropped and I couldn't see if her head was still attached.

"ROSALIE!"

AN: so this story is almost done guys and I would love to get a few reviews on this chapter just to let me know what you think I always value the people who read this story opinions.

Disclaimer: I don't own twilight nor the title the last of us just adding that in just in case.

Thanks to my beta Leighj11.


	24. The last of us Part II

Shock, anger, fear. I didn't know which one was riding my blood system right now. Rosalie's head fell to the ground with a thump. My vision was trained on nothing but Rose but slowly the screaming and the shouts of my family and friends fighting in the background rang in my ears. The scream that Rosalie released before she fell. Was she...? No. I couldn't even think it. I couldn't bare it.

Feeling my body start to shake, heat made its way up through my body. Pain, fury and fear took over as I let out a scream. The man who stomped on her head stopped laughing and looked quizzically at me, cocking his head as if wondering what I would do next. As if this was just a game.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I screamed.

Suddenly, I was slamming my fist down on the ground. The second I did, this the world around me slowed down and I watched in confusion as flames lashed out all around me, spreading out I'm large tendrils in every direction. The flames spread so slowly I was able to watch as the flames licked and attacked everything, and everyone in sight everyone except the people on my side.

I watched as the flames reached Carman and Elazar who were closest and then watched in amazement as the flames moved around them, curving and twisting around their elegant bodies. It was all most like a protective bubble made sure that no harm came to them. Turning my head back towards Rosalie, I watched as the flames made their way around her and up the man and the other vampires.

The flames attacked them, wrapping them up before everything exploded: the vampires, hybrids and werewolves all exploded into ash. Closing my eyes, grief, anger and pain still washing over me. When I opened them again, everything was normal: time was normal, but there was no bad guys, only ash were left on the ground. I rushed over to Rosalie before falling to my knees, tears welled up in my eyes and I felt ashamed that I couldn't cry for the love of my love. My mate.

Taking hold of Rosalie's hand, I started to stroke it softly. Grief, blackness, despair ate and I gnawed at my chest, eating and burning me alive. I gasped sharply, the blackness threatening to crush me and promising that my grief would be unbearable, that I would never love again. Never be happy again.

I wanted to be sick. Her head laid just beside her shoulders where the man snapped it off and the other arm laid just beside her limp body where it was broken off too. Ignoring the shuffling of feet, or the gasps and shouts of my name, I felt everyone who had survived gather around me. Even in this moment, when I should of felt victory, all I felt was pain. It burned me. Even when I was turned into an immortal creature, it was nothing compared to this. Rosalie would want me to be brave but I couldn't stop the horrible gasps screaming through my teeth, my burning eyes that wanted to mourn.

Hearing someone fall to their knees beside me, I turned around to see Lucia staring at me with a wide eyed expression and pain on her face. "Bella," was all she said before pulling me into her.

I cried on her shoulder, or at least in the vampire term anyway. It wasn't until Carlisle walked over to me and put his hand down on my shoulder, a grim slime was across his pained face. "Bella, she can be saved," he spoke so quietly that even I had trouble hearing him.

Lifting my face off of Lucia's shoulder, my eyes focused on Carlisle. "She can be saved?" I asked with disbelief.

Hope surged, new and sharp in my chest, fighting at the grief and despair. I looked at Rosalie's limp body then back at Carlisle who was now standing up.

I jumped to my feet, nearly knocking over my own sister as I turned to face him. "Tell me!" I demanded.

He looked over to Rosalie's body too before sighing and then turned around to Seth and Leah, both of whom were standing close by and looked sad and uneasy. "Seth, can you and your sister take Rosalie back to your place and make sure she is kept safe? Bella," he focused his attention on me as my hand gripped Lucia's tightly. "I can re-attach her wounds. It might take a bit longer than normal, but it can be done. Like your arm."

Relief. That was the feeling I was experiencing.

"She'll be ok," I sighed into Lucia's shoulder.

I felt weak and broken, weary and wrung through. I sunk to my knees and placed my head on my knees. God, I was exhausted. So tired. Tired of being scared, of worrying about everyone around me, tired of being eternal and forever. I shook my head. I couldn't say that. I had Rosalie, someone who loved me. I had my biological sister and my adoptive families. I had friends. I was lucky, nothing like other vampires who had to witness their families die and spend forever alone.

"Hey, come on. Do you think she would want you to mope around? Or that she'll be happy when she finds out you moped like a wimp? She'll kick your ass when she wakes up," Lucia's voice said as she grabbed my shoulder.

I stared up at her, love making me breathless. I still had my sister. She was here, with me for forever. I shook my head and let her help me back up. "No, she wouldn't."

She gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. The sound of snarls and running feet broke everyone out of the gloomy trance we had faded into. Seth and Leah picked up Rosalie and her parts and started to move away. I looked away. I knew she would be waking up soon but seeing her broken body killed me.

The sound of twigs snapping made me turn around and stare towards the forest as vampires started to emerge. Shock pinged through me. They had green veins all over their faces and the one in the lead was holding something that resembled a head. It looked oddly familiar... pushing Lucia out of the way, I ran to the front of our group and screamed.

"DECLAN! No," I choked, falling to my knees again.

Declan. My first friend, my mentor. He was like my brother. He taught me everything I knew, I was everything he made me. His head had green veins splashed viscously across his skin. The vampire holding his head laughed and then threw it towards us.

Angry snarls tore through the air and suddenly, everyone lined up. I heaved myself to my feet, feeling sick and shaky.

"We have to work together. It's the only way to stop them," Jasper stated beside me.

"James, you and your pack take left side,"Jasper said nodding at them. "The wild men will take the right with Edward, Amanda and you five," he continued to instruct, pointing to the five guys standing close to Edward. They nodded their heads in response. "The rest of us will meet them head on."

Staring ahead of me, I could feel everything from anger to un-imaginable pain. The mutant vampires made the first move: running towards us, snarling. We only waited a second before running towards them, doing the same. I heard screaming and suddenly realised it was me as I swung my fist forward and connected with vampire, sending his jaw to the side. The vampire didn't seem fazed.

He turned towards me, his eyes scanning quickly over my body, probably looking for a weakness, before grabbing me by my throat. I struggled in his arms, thrashing about wildly and looking sideways to see what I could use to whack him with. I could see that everyone was struggling to fight these creatures. Finding nothing to hit him with, I kicked out my leg, which connected with his chest.

I grinned savagely as it sent him crashing to the floor. I grabbed my throat quickly, rubbing it and trying to work away the ache. As the vampire struggled to get up, I took a running leap at the vampire. I bounced on my toes, sending me jumping and soaring through the air. I smashed into his face, cracking it before punching it again, this time breaking it completely.

"Bella!" a voice called.

Spinning around, I saw Kate fighting two vampires and she was struggling. She would die. My chest constricted. No more! Quickly, I closed my eyes, searching for the feeling inside my. As I opened my eyes, I felt the warmth spread through me and looked down at my hands. They were red again.

Growling viciously, I made my way towards Kate. As I reached her, I threw my hand out towards one of the vampire's, stopping him before putting my hand on his face slowly. Much slower than the other vampire's I did this to earlier. He deserved to suffer. I watched with feral eyes as his face started to melt away until it came to ash.

Spinning around again, I focused my attention on the other vampire who was fighting Kate. The vampire was too strong, even for a really old vampire like herself. Screaming, I threw myself at the vampire with speed like lightening. I smashed into him. knocking him off balance before teaming up with Kate. We both grabbed an arm each and pulled. tearing them off, causing the vampire to groan in pain. With a snarl. I pulled my arm back and smacked him in the head. He tumbled to the ground, he headed.

I turned to face Kate. "They're too strong, Kate. We're is struggling."

As I stared around us, I watched as we struggled against them. They were too strong, then again, the Volturi's weapon is bound to be. I watched in dispair as some of our vampires got killed. Watching helplessly as Marsha and her group were torn apart.

Turning my face away, I looked to Kate again, this time with urgency. "Kate, we have to do something or everyone is going to die here!" I growled at her.

With panic on her face, she grabbed my hand. "Bella, do that slow down thing."

I frowned, confused. "Why? What good will that do? There are too many for me to fight alone."

She shook her head in response. "Bella, if I hold onto you, maybe we can both enter the slow motion, and we can combine out gifts."

With another look around at our people, watching as they got hurt and ripped apart, I decided that there was nothing to lose but trying. I looked back at Kate and nodded my head. This was the only plan. Squeezing her hand tighter, hoping this plan would work. I closed my eyes, searching for the feeling. Then re-opened them. Time had slowed down. Looking at Kate, I could see the look of bewilderment across her face. Was it working? She looked at me and gave me a nod as if she just read my mind.

"What now?" I demanded.

How were we going to combine our gifts?

"Bella, whatever you do, don't let go of my hand."

I nodded my head at her, so scared I felt like I was going to be sick from the intensity of it all.

"Okay, Bella. You take the left side and I'll take the right side. Put in as much effort as you can."

Staring ahead of me, I aimed my left hand to the left and closed my eyes. The feeling of heat made it's way up through my body. I opened my eyes in time to see flame shoot out towards the left. I watched in awe as Kate done the same thing on the right, only it wasn't fire, it was electricity sparks and loads of them, clouded together. My body started to shake as I continued to hold on. The flames were attacking everyone now.

I gasped, falling down to my knees. I couldn't hold myself up, couldn't breath. Was my vision going black? I still held onto Kate's hand, if not tighter. I pushed myself to keep the flames going.

"Bella, just hold on a little while longer. We're almost there," Kate's voice rang out to me but the sound seemed so far away.

I couldn't hold on any longer.

"Bella, stay with me."

That voice again. It was so far away. I felt my body collapse to the ground as the flames stopped and world around me turned back to normal. Looking ahead, I could make out certain things before all went to black.

Opening my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the smell. Taking a deep breathe, I sighed to myself. This was mine and Rosalie's room. The second thing I noticed was the voices downstairs but before I had any chance to get up, the door burst open and Lucia ran in, looking relieved.

"BELLA!" she screamed at me, throwing herself into me and hugging me tightly to her body.

I feeling rather stiff but I hugged her back as best as I could. "Hey," I said, my voice sounded deep and rough.

"What happened?" I directed the question to Lucia, who sat down on the bed beside me.

"We found you passed out after we fought the vampires. Kate told us what happened. If it weren't for you and Kate, we wouldn't have won and lot more people would've died." Lucia looked down at the ground, saying this. A deep sadness covered her face.

"How many? How was I out?"

Looking back up at me, she mumbled, "a lot of wolves died, including James. Then you had more than half of the people we asked to help. The only thing we can be thankful for is that none of our own died. Everyone made it, except a few minor cuts and bruises, so to speak. As for how long you were out for well..."

As she hesitated, I let grief wash over me. Seth. Leah. Were they alive? Leah's girlfriend? I felt so guilty. Me and my loved ones had survived but the wolves had lost there pack brothers. James. I thought of his smile, his stress, how hard he fought for peace between vampires and werewolves. How he understood that we wasn't all bad. God, I felt sick. I should never have let them get involved.

"I can answer that," a voice said from the door.

My head snapped up to the owner of the voice. It was Carlisle, followed by Esme. He man walked over to me and kissed my forehead. "Bella, you have been out for longer than a week."

What? I looked at him, confused. Esme handed me a cup full of blood. My throat started to burn instantly so I grabbed it and started drinking right away. Pulling the cup away from my mouth when I finished, I closed my eyes as the rest of the family started to make their way into the room. Where was Rosalie?

"So, over week, huh? Is that even normal for a vampire?"

Carlisle bobbed his head in response. "Yes, there's no need to worry. But Bella, we have something to tell you. It's about Rosalie."

The minute the words were out his mouth, I started to feel numb, weak. Grief made its way through my body and choked me. Closing my eyes, I gripped Lucia's hand tighter, expecting the worse.

My lips started to tremble. "What is it?" My voice sounded shaky, almost alien to me.

Suddenly, a voice rang out beside the door. A voice I recognised instantly. Everyone who was standing in the way parted to the side so that I had a clear view of her standing up. I almost fell off balance had Lucia not caught me with my eyes wide.

"Rosalie?" I asked, half scared, half relieved.

The blonde bit on her lip, her face full of love and worry. "It's me Bella," she said.

Without thinking, I threw myself at her in a blur, knocking her to the ground. I mashed my lips to hers greedily. I heard a 'dude' in the back ground from Emmett, followed by a high five. I pulled my lips off of her and growled furiously.

I stood and rounded on Carlisle, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "You motherfucker! What the hell Carlisle? Your supposed to be the good one here and you do that to me! You left it hanging like she had died or something."

The man just chuckled before waving his hand. "I'm sorry Bella but I didn't get the chance to finish off what I was about to say." He did look pretty sincere.

Giving him a quick nod, I moved to Rosalie, cupping her cheeks. "I thought you had died," I whispered.

"So did I! Hell, I thought you had died. You were out for more than a week Bella."

Biting my lip, I shook my head. "So what now?" I asked everyone.

It was Carlisle that spoke up. "Everything goes back to normal now."

Looking to Lucia, I raised my brow at her because she started to walk over to me. "Bella... I'm going to go back to Alaska, with the Denali's. I just want to let you know that your welcome any time and I will see you every weekend, ok?"

I hugged her tight, fighting the urge to run and lock her up, not letting her out my sight. "Promise?"

Lucia nodded her head. "Promise."

"I want to get married now." Spinning back around to face Rosalie, I glanced at her in surprise. What did she just say?

"You want to get married now?"

She smiled at me sweetly, nodding her head. "Yes, Bella. After everything we've been through, now is as good a time as ever. Isn't it? When will the family be together like this again? Esme has our rings upstairs." She looked towards Esme. "Could you get them please?" Esme smiled, happily nodding.

"Alice, you know what to do."

The small vampire nodded her head before ushering everyone out of the room. "Okay guys, five minutes to get ready then head outside. You all know the drill here!" she shouted before closing the door on everyone, including Rosalie.

"Alice what's going on?" I barked at her, confused.

Wouldn't I need a dress or something? She pulled open the doors of the walk in wardrobe and pulled out a white dress. On closer inspection, I could see it was a wedding dress. When the fuck did they have time for this?

Grabbing the dress, Alice threw it at me, a small grin was plastered across her face. "Put it on Bella, NOW. No arguing with me either!" She wanted.

Looking at Alice's determined face, I knew it would be no use to argue with her so I got undressed and started putting on the dress. "Alice, I smell and will look horrible," I told her as I put it on.

"You know that doesn't matter because Rosalie will rip that dress off of you later."

Scowling, I shot her a glare before asking a question. "How will this be legit? We don't have someone to marry us."

There was a small chuckle from the black headed girl. "Emmett will be marrying you, he has a licence and everything."

I was pretty sure my jaw dropped down to the ground as I looked to Alice in disbelief. Emmett was going to marry us? Now I had heard it all. Fuck me. this better not turn out to be some joke.

Alice just shook her head at me. "No jokes, Bella. Now come on, everyone is waiting, including Rosalie." Alice grabbed my hand and started dragging me down stairs.

Everyone was waiting outside. There was chairs on the left and right and people were sitting in them people that had fought with us, including the three wild men who caught me by surprise by being here. There was the other vampires and of course the surviving wolves of La  
>Push too. Seth, Leah and her girlfriend! I grinned, they were alive.<p>

Music started playing as I walked up the isle. Everyone stood up and at the end of it was Rosalie and beside her was Emmett. I couldn't help but gawk at Rosalie, at how beautiful she looked in a white dress that fitted her every body part. She smiled at me as she reached for my hand, taking it.

I stared into her eyes, so much love for this woman sweeping over me. "You beautiful Rose," I said happily.

"You look beautiful too, my love." Rose stroked my cheek before turning around to face Emmett, who cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today on this beautiful afternoon to share with Rosalie and Isabella as they exchange their vows of their everlasting love together." He took a breath and continued. "As Rosalie and Bella take their vows today, we are privileged to witness the joyous love of a new family - a family that will be nourished and nurtured through the devotion of two separate individuals growing together through the common bonds of love.  
>May their marriage bring them the peace, joy, comfort and contentment that is known in the hearts of all God's children. And may Bella and Rosalie both look forward to each new season of their marriage - just as the world looks forward to each new season of the year. For all seasons bring with them their own special moments and memories. An essential requirement of a good marriage is a strong bond of real friendship and trust. Rosalie and Bella, your love for each other will grow deeper with every passing day, but it's important to remember that your love stands on a foundation of genuine, mutual affection and respect for each other. To truly LOVE another person is to be willing to accept both their strong points, and their weak points, with equal measures of understanding and respect. The vows you are about to exchange, will serve as a verbal representation of the non-verbal emotions that are as real as any thing that can be seen, heard or touched. For it is not the words that you will speak today that will bond you together as one - but the strength of the love and commitment found deep within your souls."<p>

I gasped at Emmett. Who knew he was so sweet?

"Let us pray . . ." Emmett closed his eyes and put his hands together. Is this guy for real?

Looking sideways to Rose, she growled at him before Emmett chuckled then started coughing, again he continued on with his speech.

"At this time, I'll ask you, Bella, and you, Rosalie, to face each other & take each other's hands. Bella, will you take Rosalie to be your wife, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish her friendship and love her today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honour her, laugh with her and cry with her? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

I grinned and answered, "I will." My heart hurts as I slid Esme ring on Rosalie's finger.

"Rosalie, will you take Bella to be your wife, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish his friendship and love him today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honor him, laugh with him and cry with him? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

Rosalie grinned back. "I will." Cool metal slid down on my finger.

Emmett then clapped his hands together. "I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may now kiss, and get in there good!"

With a growl, I turned around shot him a look. He held up his hands and mouthed a sorry. I should have expected something like this from him. Looking at Rosalie, I leaned and kissed her. It was passionate and lasted what felt like forever. When we both pulled away, we grinned at each other while the sound of clapping started all around us.

Suddenly, Alice shouted, "PARTY!"

Looking back to Rose, I grinned. "Another party... remember what happened last time?"

The blonde grinned right back at me and nodded. "Yes, Bella, I do."

With that, Rosalie scooped me up into her arms and started her way towards our bedroom.

10 years later...

"Bella?"

Looking towards Lucia, I grinned and nodded my head, knowing what she was thinking.

"They aren't very good are they?" She laughed as we watched our mate's play Frisbee.

It was funny really. Both threw it as hard as they could and every time it went far but because of their speed, they were able to catch it every time. Grinning, I turned my back to them and stared out across the sea on the cliff we were sitting on. The sun began to set, casting a dim orange glow across the water.

Lucia doing the same too, rested my head on my shoulder. "I love you," she mumbled.

Resting my head on top of hers, I smiled. "I love you too Lucia."

"And what about us?" Kate said as she and Rosalie came over and sat next to us.

"We love you guys too," I added with a wave of my arm.

Rosalie pulled me into her body, letting me rest myself against her. Kate did the same with Lucia, leaving the four of us to look out across the sea and stare at our happily ever after.

**AN: So that's it guys my first ever story finished and its been a great ride. I would just like to thanks everyone who has read followed favourite and reviewed this story.**

_I would also like to say a massive thank you to my beta LeighJ11 she's been fantastic._

_And lastly guys I will be doing another story it will be another Bella/Rosalie fic but it will be completely different. anyway if your interested it will be up most likely over the next few weeks I would Imagine anyway yeah Massive thanks to everyone again it's been great fun to write this story and I am glad that I finished it._

**I don't own twilight.**


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